How Do you Like Disney Cruise vs. Staying at DVC Resorts at the World

[lat]

I started checking out the points for a cruise and it seems that for certain cruised and category, the point value is not as bad.

I have never cruised. We have 2 kids ages 3 and 6, and we LOVE Disney World.

Anyone took Disney cruise and wished they had stayed at Disney World instead? It just seems much more expensive to cruise and you don't have as much room to roam on the ship as in Disney World.

What is the big draw to cruise?

Thanks!!!

 

[WDWLVR]

Well I love cruising so my answer might be a little biased. Remember that when you are pricing a cruise that all your food and entertainment are included (alcohol and shore excursions are extra).

The beauty of a cruise to me is that the ship is your destination. It is beautiful, you are treated like royalty, and you get to go to wonderful locations.

Now a cruise isn't for everyone so if you think you'll be happier at WDW then you just might. However if you think a cruise might be for you head on over to the cruise board here and check out some trip reports.

Here's a link to ours from the 10 day. http://monorailgreen.info/Xmas2004Cruise/tripreports/Day1.htm This will take you to day one and you can get to each day after that by clicking the link at the bottom.

 

[1princessesmom]

I am a HUGE WDW fan! I LOVE IT! I want to live there !
That being said, we took our first Disney Cruise 2 weeks ago. We were on a 7 day Eastern cruise aboard the Magic. It was WONDERFUL! Now I won't say I liked it MORE than WDW, but certainly just as much. My husband enjoyed the cruise MUCH more. WE have 2 kids, 4 yo DD and a 2 yo DS. The thing my husband liked so much is that you never had to worry about getting PS at a restaruant, allowing time for travel to the restaurant, where to eat, what to do, etc..... It is all right there for you. You are given a dinner rotation at a certain time at a certain restaurant....ALL with AMAZING food. The kids' clubs are great and enjoyed by my kids. All your favorite characters onboard......and things like the family dance with Cinderella and Captain Hook are great. And the service is AMAZING.....that is the thing I was most impressed with. THe ship is truly beautiful and Castaway Cay is very nice. I'm sure not everybody likes cruising (we did had rough seas one night....I didn't like that very much), but our first expericence was a great one. We are going to WDW (BCV) for vacation in 2006, and have rebooked (onboard) a Disney cruise for vacation in 2007.

 

[Crissup]

I've been on two cruises now. One of them (my second cruise) was the first DVC cruise.

I do enjoy the cruise, but I'm not sure I'm as enthusiastic about it as others. I like wandering wherever with no schedule. What I found on the cruise, is that you have to watch the clock a lot. For example, you have a predetermined dinner time, for instance. If you feel like eating early, too bad. If you're late for dinner, too bad. Of course, you can order room service, or head up to deck 10, so I'm not saying you won't eat. But you wouldn't get to sit and dine in the dining room.

There is a *lot* to do on the cruise. Unfortunately, due to my inability to manage time, or keep any kind of schedule at all, I missed much of it. So, I find that just as I start to get interested in something, I'm being told we have to leave to make the next appointed schedule item. When I finally get off the cruise, I feel like I need a vacation.

When I'm at WDW, I wake up when I feel like it and sit around for a while, or head straight out, whichever I feel like. As I sit at the bus stop, I may change my destination on a whim, usually based on which bus shows up next. I don't generally make PS's because I don't want to have to watch what time it is. Ironically, I wear a watch all the time, I just don't want to have to watch it.

So, while I do enjoy the cruise tremendously, I do feel like I have to maintain a bit of a hectic pace on it. Of course, I don't think most people have as much an issue with time management as I do, so most just ease right into the pace.

My DW, of course, *loves* the cruise. And, we're sailing on the June 12th cruise. Most likely, we'll tack WDW on one end or the other, unless we decide to do something else down there (not likely ).

 

[lsutigger2]

My DH and I cruised for the first time in April 04. It was by far the best vacation we have ever taken. We loved it. We are scheduled to take our second cruise May 06. Wish we were going sooner, but at least I know we'll be going before too much longer!
And yes, we do enjoy WDW and will go there many more times than cruising.
Both have their pluses and minuses!
Something for everyone!

 

[jkovick]

DH and I have cruised on several lines, including DCL. We really enjoyed the 7 day eastern cruise and will eventually go again. This January we went on the 3 day Wonder and while it was ok, we probably won't do it again. (the 3 day was just too rushed and Nassau is no great thrill either) We go to WDW twice a year and love it more every time. Is DCL a good time? Yes. Is WDW a better time ? In our opinion yes, it is. We are die hard loyals to WDW but in some ways we prefer other cruise lines to DCL.

 

[QuiltTeddy]

I think cruises are the most relaxing vacations one can take. Highly recommended! Love 'em!

 

[lillasmom]

We have been on two cruises now and combined them both with resort stays. It makes the best vacation! Best of both worlds! You can't loose!

 

[lat]

Thanks very much for your replies. I just checked the prices again for 2006, I need to pay for 11 people and the cost is a little scary. Have to put it off for a while.

 

[MrTerrorChair]

DW, DS, my dad, and my mom all went on the 4 day cruise during the 2nd year of DVC ownership. We started with 3 days at BWV then the four day cruise.

WE LOVED IT. There is no VS. for us. Both experiences were magical in their own way. WDW is, well, WDW. If you know what you're doing when you're there, it's always a joy.

The cruise was also fantastic. And the surprising thing was how much our then 5 year old son loved it. He actually enjoyed the Cruise more. It was less hectic and he got to PLAY with other kids at the kid's club. Just like the commercial, we had difficulty getting him out of there. The programming was wonderful. The clubs were great. We had an inside stateroom, which was small for the three of us (parents had their own room). But we still enjoyed it. The food is included as is on-ship entertainment. The only money we ended up needing was for shopping and alcohol. If you have any amount of willpower, or are just plain cheap, the cruise can actually cost you very little besides your DVC points.

Since then, we've enjoyed another stay at the park, the 7 day cruise this past summer, and we're going back to the park at the end of Feb.

Hope that helps.

 

[Terry S]

Our family enjoyed the cruise, but enjoy WDW much more! The room was one thing that I could not handle. I love my kids (ages 6 and 7 at the time) but we normally get a 2 bedroom in WDW and having one little room was not fun. I know most people don't spend time in thier rooms but our family does spend enough time in our room to need space! We asked the kids when we were done if they liked the cruise and they said yes! We asked them if they wanted to do the every other trip or so and they said no!

 

[dreaming of BCV]

We've been on 2 DCL cruises, both on the Wonder. One 3 day and one 4 day. We'll be doing a 7 day next time. My boys (5) & (10) loved it! In fact, my ds(5) just said to me, "Why can't we go on the ship again this time?" (We're going to WDW at the end of this month). They liked splitting the trip because they got the best of both worlds. I thought the short cruises were just that, too short. We decided to wait until our younger son was older to enjoy the excursions with us. Right now they both love Magic Kingdom, and we don't know how long until our older son's interest change. We hope we're brainwashing him enough so that he'll always love MK as much as he does now!