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 dead 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...

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

When we branched out from DCL (very short lived venture) DW & I made a list of that which we loved/liked/appreciated about DCL. No statistics, or anything complicated; just what we liked. It was similar to the our process of building our home. I wanted a real wood burning fireplace, she wanted 3k+ square feet. I wanted a basement, but I digress...

We did that ahead of time so we evaluated the other cruise line fairly and compared apples to apples. Yeah, one and done. But the process gave us confidence that we weren't being super duper subjective and reached a solid conclusion.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

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.

Just remember your first DCL cruise - you had no idea what to expect. You had to learn to like it. Go with that same attitude with a new cruise line. Don't expect anything, and you're bound to enjoy it. Sure, it "won't be Disney", but other lines are just as enjoyable.

 

[princesscinderella]

We have only sailed twice on NCL other than DCL and we had a great time on NCL. We aren’t gamblers and it doesn’t bother us that they have it on the ship it’s the smoking that’s allowed in the gabbling section that’s usually positioned where you have to walk by or near the casino to get to other main attractions/venues on the ship. I am very sensitive to smells and we had to actively got out of our way to avoid the casino area as the smell can trigger a migraine for me. Flower smells do the same for me too unfortunately, especially strong women’s perfumes. The different itineraries were what made us choose another cruise line.

 

[cruisehopeful]

@Disneyworldlocal , you sound like the type of person who won't hate a ship.

My very first cruise was on the Disney Dream. It was her third sailing. My husband and I were completely amazed at how incredibly wonderful everything was and the top notch service. We were seated with people at dinner who only saw the bad things. We couldn't figure out how they were having such a different experience than us.

At Castaway Cay, we met people who sailed Magic and Wonder many times who absolutely hated the Dream. One couple said they would never sail on the Dream again. Meanwhile, my husband and I would be honored to have the same experience again. It all comes down to your own attitude.

 

[Jillpie]

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 dead 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...

We are going on the Wish very soon for the first time. We are huge users of adult pools, so very curious, what did you do when that pool is too crowded? did you go upstairs to the Chip and Dale one, did you go to the hot tub instead? I need ideas lol, I am a huge pool user.

 

[Skippyboo]

We are going on the Wish very soon for the first time. We are huge users of adult pools, so very curious, what did you do when that pool is too crowded? did you go upstairs to the Chip and Dale one, did you go to the hot tub instead? I need ideas lol, I am a huge pool user.

There are tiled benches with water running down them on either side. You can go up to Chip and Dale pool on the front top area but it limited hours. There are smaller pools stacked on tiers on the pool deck also. Plus the Aquamouse is fun. You can find lounger on adult area and up on top front of ship. There’s a bar up front on deck 14 and back in adult area.

 

[Disneyworldlocal]

We are going on the Wish very soon for the first time. We are huge users of adult pools, so very curious, what did you do when that pool is too crowded? did you go upstairs to the Chip and Dale one, did you go to the hot tub instead? I need ideas lol, I am a huge pool user.

We went to the Chip and Dale pool area over Labor Day weekend because the adults only area was overrun. It’s supposed to be a sensory pool area and it was TOTALLY overrun with kids yelling and I will never ever forget the dad at least a dozen times yelling at his kid AIDEN !!!!!!
It was a very disappointing experience

 

[Marthasor]

It's more the "vibe" for me and I just prefer smaller ships to larger ones, in general (Magic is my favorite DCL! Wish is a never-again for me and I'm not terribly fond of the Fantasy). As I get older, the smaller the ship the better as I found I really love Ama, Ponant, Windstar, etc. I think if you sat and thought about what you particularly love about DCL, in general, and then see if you can find that similar "vibe" in another line, you will probably be happy.

 

[SirDuff]

@Disneyworldlocal , you sound like the type of person who won't hate a ship.

My very first cruise was on the Disney Dream. It was her third sailing. My husband and I were completely amazed at how incredibly wonderful everything was and the top notch service. We were seated with people at dinner who only saw the bad things. We couldn't figure out how they were having such a different experience than us.

At Castaway Cay, we met people who sailed Magic and Wonder many times who absolutely hated the Dream. One couple said they would never sail on the Dream again. Meanwhile, my husband and I would be honored to have the same experience again. It all comes down to your own attitude.

Or it all comes down to what you like and dislike. Your post suggests that those who have different views must just have a bad attitude, which is unfair.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

With Seabourn many of the long long time sailors prefer the 458 passenger ships as opposed to the 600 passenger ships viewing the 600 passenger as too large this is primarily because they started with the company when it was very small ships (of which several are now Windstar ships). Many newer passengers seem to prefer the 600 passenger ships.

We actually got to tour one of the Expedition ships of the company when it was docked along side us. Those ships have a max of 264 passengers and while talking with the passengers while touring their ship (they got to tour ours too) they gave the information that it has a different type of vibe of the ship when the particular one is not actually an Expedition one which at that time that particular cruise was NOT considered sailed as one (and thus lacks an Expedition team). We thought the styling of the ship was quite cool and could picture ourselves relaxing in multiple of the spaces but did wish we could have toured a room. We're hesitant on whether we would want to try and sail that sometime when it's not an expedition cruise (which means it's slightly less in price point).

At the moment we have stayed away from the 458 passenger ships (soon to be only one left after May 2026) primarily because the upcharge for the balcony is a bit high for us (although we almost booked a French Polynesia cruise for 2026 on one). Those ships the lowest category is an ocean view and the window is quite large still but we would prefer the balcony. The larger 600 passenger ships (there's two of them) are all balcony ships and the price point better for them. Another thing is while we don't eat sushi we like the bento boxes served during lunch at the Sushi restaurant on the larger ships, sushi was so well received they started serving it on the 458 passenger ships but only in a particular spot because they don't have a dedicated restaurant like the larger ships do.

I know for us when we were looking at what company to do a cruise with we did do a lot of youtube videos to help give us an idea of the feel of the ship once we had narrowed down more the company. The first Expedition ship had just been completed when we started searching out cruises in summer 2022 and we for sure didn't want to sail a brand new ship with a newer type of ship with them in favor of waiting it out a bit, their second one started sailing in 2023. Now with several years under the belt and having been fortunate enough to be able to tour one we have a much better idea if we would pay the increased fare to sail it.

I think it's hard to always know exactly what you may dislike about a particular ship but I do think you can get an idea by doing a lot of research once you've done a few cruises to pick up your meh, dislikes and likes.

 

[DCL58]

Or it all comes down to what you like and dislike. Your post suggests that those who have different views must just have a bad attitude, which is unfair.

Our two favorite things on a DCL ship are the adult area sundeck and the outdoor walking track. Since DCL ruined both on the Wish class ships, they aren’t for us. Isn’t a bad attitude, it is choosing to sail different ships that meet our needs.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Our two favorite things on a DCL ship are the adult area sundeck and the outdoor walking track. Since DCL ruined both on the Wish class ships, they aren’t for us. Isn’t a bad attitude, it is choosing to sail different ships that meet our needs.

Those are my favorite parts of the Wonder and Magic. Since I know I won't have those on the Destiny and Treasure, I'm looking forward to theme bars and potentially the quiet pool on deck 14. We booked balcony rooms in case we don't have a nice place to kick back outside like deck 4 and the Cove Cafe that we enjoy on the Magic class. My husband thinks he'll be at the spa and rainforest room/gym, etc the whole time.

 

[DCL58]

Those are my favorite parts of the Wonder and Magic. Since I know I won't have those on the Destiny and Treasure, I'm looking forward to theme bars and potentially the quiet pool on deck 14. We booked balcony rooms in case we don't have a nice place to kick back outside like deck 4 and the Cove Cafe that we enjoy on the Magic class. My husband thinks he'll be at the spa and rainforest room/gym, etc the whole time.

We tried deck 14 on the Treasure - most definitely wasn’t quiet! At least when we sailed! We tried it a few days to have some shade. That area needs to be turned into an additional adult only area.

 

[DCLMP]

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 )

I would suggest watching videos and ship tours from You tube Vloggers. You will get the best idea of what a ship is actually like. They also tend to be more unbiased because they review different ships on different cruise lines. They aren't emotionally tied to one cruise line. I don't find forum reviews to be helpful at all. Everyone has different likes and dislikes. I like to actually see if for myself.

I think the biggest mistake people make is not doing their research. You should know what to expect before you get on the ship. You should know what you might like and what you might not like before you even book. With all the videos out there there really isn't any excuse.