Honest Question on Not Liking the Ships

[Disneyworldlocal]

Hi DCL Fanatics. Looking for feedback on when people say they dislike, hate or won’t gone on X ship ever again. I guess I am asking this as i am in the planning phase of taking our first non DCL cruise ( 5 x DCL cruises ). I love all the DCL ships I’ve been on Dream, Wish, Fantasy, Magic. Have there been some some not so stellar service experiences, sure there have been. But there has also been some amazing service experiences. My question I guess is really more the ship itself that you dislike. It’s hard for me to understand someone actually disking or hating a ship to the point they won’t go again.
As noted above, I’m in the planning stages of trying another cruise line and also have concerns that I might hate the ship for one reason or another. This is somewhat incomprehensible to me since I love all the DCL ships I’ve been on. Whether it’s fears of going on an older ship that hasn’t been well taken care of or a mega ship that is just too nuts. Oddly enough I really want to try the Royal Caribbean mega ships but also fear they might be bonkers packed. I want to try Virgin Voyages but worry that the shows might be too whacky compared to what I have tried. We are also looking at a cruise on MSC staying in the Yacht Club area. We have a few friends that RAVE about the yacht club experience but also say the rest of the ship is generally not that great ( especially the food ).

In conclusion just getting people’s thoughts on hating a ship— it’s a vacation and paying that kind of money and disliking or hating the experience overall seems hard to fathom ( if you know what I mean )

 

[scrappinginontario]

We did 4 DCL cruises until we were priced out and moved to RCL. We’ve really enjoyed our 2 cruises we’ve sailed on including Harmony if the Seas which is one of their mega ships. Except for the first day waiting for staterooms to open and some events we chose to attend, it didn’t feel crowded. We would very happily sail in one of their mega ships again. Personally we would not choose to sail in their smaller, older ships as we like the options of activities the newer ships offer.

 

[CamColt]

I will start with I hate no ship, LOL! We have done all 6 DCL ships (32x), 3 NCL, 1 RCCL (Utopia) and going way back Premier Cruise Line's Oceanic...the Big Red Boat. We have never had a bad cruise and while some ships I wouldn't choose to go on again, if I had a reason (like family going on it) I would go again. Never say never!

Do I love the Wish and Treasure? No! The Treasure is definitely better than the Wish though, IMO. I'm old school and don't need all the bells and whistles. They are fun and interesting to see, but to me, priority of a cruise is sitting in a lounge chair relaxing in the sun. The Dream and Fantasy give me ample opportunity to do that (Satellite Falls area is Heaven!). I'm not a fan of the dinner shows on the newer ships, and the classics (as I found out as we went back to the Magic this summer after 10 years off from the classic ships). The shows are great but I'll go to the show if I want a show. At dinner I want to eat in peace. No need for another show then. With that said I will admit, both Coco shows on the Treasure were awesome, and not intrusive so I did kind of like those. I did not expect that going in. I also prefer a self serve buffet.

As for other Cruise lines, as I noted we sailed on Utopia this summer. This was our first RCCL and we enjoyed it very much! You mention Virgin so I assume you are a party of adults only? As adults, we found Utopia not to be TOO much of a party ship, but not all Mickey Mouse either. We had our sail away indoors due to weather and that was the only time I would say it looked crowded. The food was great, shows amazing (didn't make me cry like some of DCL's but that Aqua show was beyond words!), and they had a lot of options for cocktails with some entertainment later at night (guitar singer in 1 lounge, country band in another restaurant/bar, etc...). It was only a 3 night cruise but we didn't get to bed until well after midnight each night, which is late for us. We enjoy going to Vegas too (don't gamble much but enjoy the vibe, music, entertainment, drinks, food, etc...) and Utopia gave us a little of that vibe, especially walking on to the Promenade. And as an added bonus we boarded the ship at 10:14 am. They definitely beat DCL in embarkation!

 

[Amunet]

Your question is more about psychology of the human brain in response to negative or even traumatic experiences. Most people associate one or two bad things with the overall whole and, in order not to have negative feelings, it's easier to avoid it all together. Many people work like that, in any situation (relationships, vacations, products, etc). It's just how humans are wired. It's a learned behavior to not do a "knee jerk" reaction to something negative.

 

[dreamer17555]

My thought- Vacations are expensive and for many time off is precious. I see nothing wrong with someone deciding a ship, cruise line, or a certain vacation isn't to their liking. It would be wonderful if everyone had the resources to give things a second (or even a 3rd) try but this is just not true for many.

 

[vakamalua]

We have been on 40+ cruises on eight lines. The only ship I've hated in all of those cruises is DCL Wish. I think it's totally & poorly conceived with horrible Feng Shui--super crowded public spaces, weird red ends, tiny little lounges, tacky fake flowers hanging from the ceiling, restaurants' tables packed so close together they might as well be family style (plus the loud intrusive dinner 'shows'), the ridiculous afterthought they call adult pool area, etc. Couldn't wait to get off that ship!

Not sure why folk are so afraid to step out of their DCL comport zone...