HELP!

[YellingMonk]

I need some help! I am planning to surprise my girlfriend with a Disney cruise next year. It'll be just the two of us. What are the perks, pros and cons of going on a cruise? I've watching some YouTube videos on the cruises and am excited to go on one!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I need some help! I am planning to surprise my girlfriend with a Disney cruise next year. It'll be just the two of us. What are the perks, pros and cons of going on a cruise? I've watching some YouTube videos on the cruises and am excited to go on one!

Really, that's an awful lot of ground to cover.

I'd suggest you start by just reading the various threads here and see what people at talking about. Also any of the reviews of taken cruises. You'll find those under the "Disney Cruise Line Trip Reports" link above.

If you run across something specific you have a question about, post it here and someone will answer it.

 

[DWillowBay]

I'd order a Cruise Planning Dvd / Download from DCL and start there with what are the 'pros & cons' for you as a couple. Begin thinking about available dates that both of you can go, how long a cruise you'd like and where in the world you want to cruise. All of these are subjective as to your parameters, so to list "pros & cons" wouldn't be helpful until you know when, how long and where you want to cruise. ...oh, yeah...and COST is probably the biggest factor to consider. Apparently, I tried to forget that one has to PAY for these kinds of things. Good luck in your planning! For me, planning is as fun as the cruise, itself.

 

[Shanti]

Read Disboards DCL trip reports and the Disney Cruise Line Blog website to get a feel for what the cruises are like, and their pros and cons. The come back here to ask specific questions about your cruise.

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

More power to you for doing this! The DCL website is a good place to start. How much can you afford, vs where to go (Caribbean/Bahamas, Europe, Alaska or Even Canada) and for how long? Stay in a lower category stateroom to offset price to get the cruise you want? lots of trades, but I recommend doing some research (again DCL site is a good place to start ) to establish your cruise priorities then arranging the rest to support that.

I'll warn you DCL is highly addictive! Enjoy your cruise!
,

 

[mkh531]

If I were You I’d book a less expensive, 3 or 4 night Bahamian cruise out of port canaveral, as those are the most “beginner”cruises. Also if you live near a port like NYC maybe a cruise from there. Our can always change your cruise and the cheapest cruises are booked the furthest in advance. Get an idea for pricing and times now. Prices are most expensive during school breaks.

 

[fredandkell]

Since it's just you and your girlfriend, I'll throw it out there - are you OK with kids? While there are many people who go on DCL as couples only, by its very nature, DCL caters to families and is the reason that many of us pay the DCL premium to sail them. With that being said, just know that there are usually a crap-ton of kids on every cruise. If you want something quieter and more adults-focused, you may want to consider another cruise line (and it will be a lot cheaper too). If you want to go on DCL because you and your GF are diehard Disney fanatics, that's great - but just know that you'll pay a premium and that you'll see a lot of little ones. Personally, if I was sailing with just my husband, I would choose another cruise line due to DCL's limited itineraries and the sheer number of kids on board, but I will not sail another cruise line when I'm with my kids. We sailed RCL with the kids a couple of years ago and ended up wishing we were on DCL the whole time.

 

[YellingMonk]

Since it's just you and your girlfriend, I'll throw it out there - are you OK with kids? While there are many people who go on DCL as couples only, by its very nature, DCL caters to families and is the reason that many of us pay the DCL premium to sail them. With that being said, just know that there are usually a crap-ton of kids on every cruise. If you want something quieter and more adults-focused, you may want to consider another cruise line (and it will be a lot cheaper too). If you want to go on DCL because you and your GF are diehard Disney fanatics, that's great - but just know that you'll pay a premium and that you'll see a lot of little ones. Personally, if I was sailing with just my husband, I would choose another cruise line due to DCL's limited itineraries and the sheer number of kids on board, but I will not sail another cruise line when I'm with my kids. We sailed RCL with the kids a couple of years ago and ended up wishing we were on DCL the whole time.

We're both ok with kids, having been to MK during the holiday season. In videos I've seen, it seems that Disney takes the time to take care of adults as well as the children on board

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

We're both ok with kids, having been to MK during the holiday season. In videos I've seen, it seems that Disney takes the time to take care of adults as well as the children on board

Very true; DCL treats adults very well

 

[kiford]

With that being said, just know that there are usually a crap-ton of kids on every cruise.

While that may be true, we've found in our 10 cruises with DCL that we rarely feel like there are hordes of kids around even if there are that many actually onboard. We typically stick to the adult-only or adult-focused areas (lounges, adults only pool and cafe, adult-only dining, adult-only activities, adult-only excursions where possible, adult-only beach at Castaway Cay, spa, gym, later dining). When we spend our time in these areas, we find that we don't really feel like we're surrounded and a lot of the children spend time in the clubs so even when we're not in those areas, it doesn't feel like they have the run of the ship. The environment feels quite balanced to us between people of all ages from infants to seniors. And Disney caters to the child that lives inside all of us so we get that benefit too!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

While that may be true, we've found in our 10 cruises with DCL that we rarely feel like there are hordes of kids around even if there are that many actually onboard. We typically stick to the adult-only or adult-focused areas (lounges, adults only pool and cafe, adult-only dining, adult-only activities, adult-only excursions where possible, adult-only beach at Castaway Cay, spa, gym, later dining). When we spend our time in these areas, we find that we don't really feel like we're surrounded and a lot of the children spend time in the clubs so even when we're not in those areas, it doesn't feel like they have the run of the ship. The environment feels quite balanced to us between people of all ages from infants to seniors. And Disney caters to the child that lives inside all of us so we get that benefit too!

I also don't feel over run with kids on a Disney cruise. Yes, there are more kids than on, say, a Holland America cruise, but (for the most part) the onboard spaces are not filled to the brim with them. Well, except for our Kids Sail Free cruise we did several years ago. Kids were running amok on that cruise, without a parent in sight. Thank heavens DCL dropped that program.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Last week’s Dream Merrytime Cruise was my first DCL cruise, out of 24 that I felt overwhelmed by children. Part of the experience was having a forward veranda on deck 5 which is the deck with many children’s clubs. Once we used the forward elevators to change floors we avoided many of the problems.

We felt it was an absolutely wonderful cruise.

 

[daedelus]

IMHO, if you avoid Dream and Fantasy period and Wonder and Magic doing the Caribbean routes, you won't get swamped with kids. We've done Alaska, Panama Canal, Transatlantic all with a much lower % of kids.

That said, it is a family cruise line and there will always be kids on board. We did a 5 day Caribbean and had a great time. Agree with previous posters - do your homework, start with a shorter cruise, make sure you get a Castaway Cay day and have a great time!

 

[MimiDee905]

My husband and I are about to go on our 4th cruise with DCL since we started dating. We’re both in our mid 20’s and have no kids. We have never minded cruising with DCL because of any kid issues. The adult only areas are perfect, and we’ve always been seated with other adult only parties.
I think the reason we keep going back to DCL is because we both love Disney, we love the Disney treatment, every DCL Cruise we have been on has been 100% worth the investment. We even chose to cruise DCL for our honeymoon because we knew that DCL was exactly what we wanted.
My recommendation would be to enjoy as many of the adult only areas and activities as possible! DCL offers a lot! And the shows and events at night in the adult-only areas are great as well! We’ve made many friends on our cruises that we still keep in cotact with today!