How many Disney cruises is too many?

[NancyIL]

I have been on 6 Disney cruises and 23 cruises on 4 other cruise lines (Royal Caribbean, Princess, Celebrity, and Holland America). I would like to go on another Disney cruise, but I'm only interested in DCL's longer cruises, like the Transatlantic and Panama Canal. I rarely cruise just to cruise, so multiple cruises to the Bahamas or Caribbean get old pretty quickly - regardless of cruise line.

 

[Bree]

I've only cruised twice w/ DCL. Once on the Fantasy in 2014 and the Magic in 2015. I'm skipping them this year and going back to RCCL. I don't know if it was the Magic, but I walked away feeling like I didn't get any value out of the money I paid. The ship just is too small for my liking, I was bored a lot, Carioca's was abysmal, I had (yet again) a lousy dining room serving team and I'm done with pirate night from the dining menu to the stage show. I really enjoyed the Fantasy so we are sailing her again in 2017. I think at that point I'll walk away knowing if DCL is still something of value to my family.

 

[suebecdan]

I've only cruised twice w/ DCL. Once on the Fantasy in 2014 and the Magic in 2015. I'm skipping them this year and going back to RCCL. I don't know if it was the Magic, but I walked away feeling like I didn't get any value out of the money I paid. The ship just is too small for my liking, I was bored a lot, Carioca's was abysmal, I had (yet again) a lousy dining room serving team and I'm done with pirate night from the dining menu to the stage show. I really enjoyed the Fantasy so we are sailing her again in 2017. I think at that point I'll walk away knowing if DCL is still something of value to my family.

We sailed the Magic this year and I felt the same. I also felt the pool are was way too small for a cruse ship with so many children. At one point you couldn't see any water just a bunch of heads. Carioca's is our least favorite as well so I am glad we had AP twice during our trip. I am not sure if it is the layout of that restaurant but it was loud, felt like everyone was running around. I really do enjoy DCL but for the $$$ there is so much more value on other larger ships. I know some people are die hard fans and are willing to pay anything to go but our family does not feel this way.

 

[Ofinn]

I've only cruised twice w/ DCL. Once on the Fantasy in 2014 and the Magic in 2015. I'm skipping them this year and going back to RCCL. I don't know if it was the Magic, but I walked away feeling like I didn't get any value out of the money I paid. The ship just is too small for my liking, I was bored a lot, Carioca's was abysmal, I had (yet again) a lousy dining room serving team and I'm done with pirate night from the dining menu to the stage show. I really enjoyed the Fantasy so we are sailing her again in 2017. I think at that point I'll walk away knowing if DCL is still something of value to my family.

This was how I felt on the Wonder last month. I actually couldn't wait for the cruise to end I was bored to death. Thank goodness it was a 5 day. On the other hand I absolutely loved our Hawaii cruise on the Wonder. It made me realize after 12 cruises how important itinerary has now become. I love the Caribbean, but we have done it so many times. If I do it again it's going to be on a new ship with lots to do, and I mean lots to do that's NOT designed for people under 4 feet tall. My kids are teen and preteen age. They hang out with the friends they make, and I barely see them. They could care less about Mickey Mouse anymore. We are going to Iceland/Norway on the Magic but that's for the itinerary. I would love to sail Panama or a TA on DCL. I've heard they do a good job with the Adult entertainment on those cruises. I also think if I did a long cruise on any other cruiseline there would be no kids on board for my kids to hang out with. DCL is still a good fit for us on certain cruise. We will be sailing on the new Carnival Vista later this year, and I'm really looking forward to trying a new ship.

 

[Bree]

We sailed the Magic this year and I felt the same. I also felt the pool are was way too small for a cruse ship with so many children. At one point you couldn't see any water just a bunch of heads. Carioca's is our least favorite as well so I am glad we had AP twice during our trip. I am not sure if it is the layout of that restaurant but it was loud, felt like everyone was running around. I really do enjoy DCL but for the $$$ there is so much more value on other larger ships. I know some people are die hard fans and are willing to pay anything to go but our family does not feel this way.

The dining rooms were horribly loud. My DS has Asperger's, sensory issues and auditory processing disorder and did fine on the Fantasy, but the poor kid couldn't make it through dinner service on the Magic. I didn't make him come with us to dinner after the 2nd night. He left without finishing his meal the 1st and 2nd night and went to our cabin and ordered room service.

 

[llachance]

My husband would say one but since I just finished 14 I guess his thoughts don't count

 

[Sir William]

Cruising isn't for everyone, just as Disney isn't for everyone.

DW loves DCL though she is lukewarm at best about WDW (she was last there in 2012 and has absolutely no desire to return anytime soon). We like Celebrity and Viking, and cruising on the Mississippi, and we want to try out Princess and Cunard, but we had a poor experience on RCL so are not inclined to sail on them anytime soon.

We also like the smaller ships like the Magic and Wonder. We find the Fantasy and Dream to be a bit larger than we like though we've sailed on them and will be on the Fantasy again next year. We won't even consider the mega ships operated by the major cruise lines (I cancelled an NCL cruise last year because I just didn't want to be on a ship with 5000+ passengers). We're happy with the entertainment and dining options on DCL, the lack of a casino, and particularly like the level of service on DCL. We're perfectly happy to spend our time onboard reading by the pool or on our veranda.

 

[The Sasquatch]

started in 2012 after 50+ visits to WDW as a way to try something new. Now we split stay every time. We will be gold in 15 days and booked a Fantasy in Oct.

 

[Ofinn]

Cruising isn't for everyone, just as Disney isn't for everyone.

DW loves DCL though she is lukewarm at best about WDW (she was last there in 2012 and has absolutely no desire to return anytime soon). We like Celebrity and Viking, and cruising on the Mississippi, and we want to try out Princess and Cunard, but we had a poor experience on RCL so are not inclined to sail on them anytime soon.

We also like the smaller ships like the Magic and Wonder. We find the Fantasy and Dream to be a bit larger than we like though we've sailed on them and will be on the Fantasy again next year. We won't even consider the mega ships operated by the major cruise lines (I cancelled an NCL cruise last year because I just didn't want to be on a ship with 5000+ passengers). We're happy with the entertainment and dining options on DCL, the lack of a casino, and particularly like the level of service on DCL. We're perfectly happy to spend our time onboard reading by the pool or on our veranda.

I always preferred the smaller ships until the last one. Im not sure what went wrong on our last cruise or why I left so disappointed. Since it was a short cruise that was priced quite a bit lower than the dream. There were a lot of young families, and first time cruisers. I felt like I spent 5 days in a preschool camp. Dont get me wrong I like kids. I have a couple, and Im not super old.Im in my 40s, but man was that cruise kid soup. They moved the pirate party to 730 to accomodate the little kids. I was looking forward to seeing Bridge of Spies and The finest hour, but all the showed was the G rated cartoons and star wars. Ive always loved the family atmosphere of Dcl, but when the whole cruise is geared towards the 10 and under crowd its just too much. Out of our 12 dcl cruise this was the first one I didnt like. I dont know if Im getting tired of Dcl or if it was just the atmosphere of this cruise. Even my dh was bored. The kids liked it though they always do. I think in the futue I'll stick to the longer cruises wher the kids dont outnumer the adults.

 

[cgolf]

I always preferred the smaller ships until the last one. Im not sure what went wrong on our last cruise or why I left so disappointed. Since it was a short cruise that was priced quite a bit lower than the dream. There were a lot of young families, and first time cruisers. I felt like I spent 5 days in a preschool camp. Dont get me wrong I like kids. I have a couple, and Im not super old.Im in my 40s, but man was that cruise kid soup. They moved the pirate party to 730 to accomodate the little kids. I was looking forward to seeing Bridge of Spies and The finest hour, but all the showed was the G rated cartoons and star wars. Ive always loved the family atmosphere of Dcl, but when the whole cruise is geared towards the 10 and under crowd its just too much. Out of our 12 dcl cruise this was the first one I didnt like. I dont know if Im getting tired of Dcl or if it was just the atmosphere of this cruise. Even my dh was bored. The kids liked it though they always do. I think in the futue I'll stick to the longer cruises wher the kids dont outnumer the adults.

Our last few cruises we have found ways to have fun, but we had to find them. We also got stuck with entertainers we weren't fond of too which didn't help. We were also surprised that many of the trivia events still use the same questions as at least 2 or 3 years ago. You would think they would mix up the lower budget entertainment a bit more to keep us frequent cruisers excited about the product onboard. We did get lucky that they showed Bridge of Spies, awesome movie

We are going to give DCL a one year break and see if we feel different the next time we go. Just hoping they tweak some small things to change it up a bit.

 

[Ofinn]

Our last few cruises we have found ways to have fun, but we had to find them. We also got stuck with entertainers we weren't fond of too which didn't help. We were also surprised that many of the trivia events still use the same questions as at least 2 or 3 years ago. You would think they would mix up the lower budget entertainment a bit more to keep us frequent cruisers excited about the product onboard. We did get lucky that they showed Bridge of Spies, awesome movie

We are going to give DCL a one year break and see if we feel different the next time we go. Just hoping they tweak some small things to change it up a bit.

My kids were banned from the trivia in Edge because they new all the answers. We have won the 70's and 80's music trivia several times because they never change the songs. The adult entertainment, pirate night and the dining room shows never change. There was more variety on our 10 night Hawaii and cruise, and Im hoping for the same on the 12 night Iceland cruise. I think we're done with "DCL in the Caribbean" for a while. Prices are too high anyway.

 

[Sir William]

Last year we were on the Fantasy. Embarkation Day was a complete disaster from my perspective, though DW thought it was just the same as our other cruises. Without going into all the details, I was getting really irritated and not having a good day. I swore I'd never sail Disney again, but the rest of the week went much better and I had a good time, except for that first day. Since then we've done another DCL cruise, and have two more scheduled.

 

[mevelandry]

After two Bahamas cruises on the Dream, we decided to bring my FIL and MIL on a Bahamas cruise (especially for Castaway Cay). BUT we insisted on going on the Wonder because we saw the Dream twice and we feel like we need to try a different cruiseship.

After our third cruise we'll need a change in itinerary and possibly change to another cruiseline.

 

[RedSox68]

We've done 10. I want to do one more to take advantage of our platinum benefits. The ONLY reason I wouldn't pad my numbers and keep sailing Disney are the prices. If they were reasonable, they'd still be my number one choice. So I guess the answer is: as many as you can afford

 

[cwby22]

We've done 6 so far. Definitely haven't gotten tired or bored with it. Still can't wait for the next one. You do get addicted.
Kinda hard to explain though. You do get so familiar with the ships that, for me, you loose a little of the excitement of exploring new things.

 

[Sytrace]

We really like the Fantasy because after quite a few cruises, we have gotten to know many cast members and officers. We don't see the shows anymore (once is enough for them)
Our main venues of entertainment are trivia (family) , bingo (for me), Mid Ship detective agency (hubby and kids like to complete all of them on one cruise) the Aquaduck (kids and hubby) , I like the Rainforest. We spend time together and walk deck 4 a lot and enjoy being disconnected from internet and phones. We like to get ice cream cones and try new food items that they have never had before. The kids like going to Vibe and Edge, but really don't spend that much time there towards the end of the cruise. I think the novelty wears off for them really.

On the Dream, we don't have the same kind of feeling of closeness with CM and officers, I figure that because it is a 4 night cruise and there isn't as much time to interact and get to know them or for them to know us. We are looking forward to Valleopes and my son is going to the open house to check out Millineum Falcon in 60 days for my husbands 50th birthday week.

I cannot seem to convince them to try RCL or Princess yet, which disappoints me as I am a TA and have done training on all cruise lines and think they all have benefits and drawbacks, but would be worth giving them a shot.
I once took the kids on a Carnival cruise (BD) and found it to be a whole different environment but not horrible, just different.

All in all, we really enjoy our time on DCL because of the great family time we have and being totally disconnected. It is the only type of vacation where my husband can actually escape business with a clear head and enjoy some time off completely.
Sadly, he dreams about being at work until about the 3rd night but after that, he is good to go. So 4 nights are not really enough, but are good for a quick fix!

 

[Justacruiser]

Hitting DCL number 28 in May and have a dummy reservation in waiting. The DW wants to get 30 by the end of this year, don't know why but ok!

We like the dining rooms for their own special menu for each, but after that the DW isn't so much on the food. I will eat anything.

The itineraries have been the same for us for year except last years Panama Canal which was just awesome. I actually like ports we have already been to so I don't have to get off the ship. Don't get me wrong, I like new places but that is not a requirement for me to cruise.

It's interesting that we all pay extra for DCL and we all want to get off the ship and go look around. And, we are willing to pay a lot of money for the tours and my gosh all the food you can purchase off the ship. Kinda like golf in the fact that the goal is to not hit a lot of shots and bowling that's $5 a game and the goal is to just throw 12 balls instead a max of 22 balls in a game. I am strongly thinking about opening a restaurant where you bring your food and you can sit at our table and pay us money! Anyway, just kidding.

Last couple of cruises we didn't do some of the Broadway type shows, just been there and done that, but maybe it's because we have done at least 4 cruises a year for the last 5 years.

But, nothing beats sitting on the balcony with my saduku book and drink my diet coke and waiting for the next feeding!

 

[Sytrace]

Hitting DCL number 28 in May and have a dummy reservation in waiting. The DW wants to get 30 by the end of this year, don't know why but ok!

We like the dining rooms for their own special menu for each, but after that the DW isn't so much on the food. I will eat anything.

The itineraries have been the same for us for year except last years Panama Canal which was just awesome. I actually like ports we have already been to so I don't have to get off the ship. Don't get me wrong, I like new places but that is not a requirement for me to cruise.

It's interesting that we all pay extra for DCL and we all want to get off the ship and go look around. And, we are willing to pay a lot of money for the tours and my gosh all the food you can purchase off the ship. Kinda like golf in the fact that the goal is to not hit a lot of shots and bowling that's $5 a game and the goal is to just throw 12 balls instead a max of 22 balls in a game. I am strongly thinking about opening a restaurant where you bring your food and you can sit at our table and pay us money! Anyway, just kidding.

Last couple of cruises we didn't do some of the Broadway type shows, just been there and done that, but maybe it's because we have done at least 4 cruises a year that last 5 years.

But, nothing beats sitting on the balcony with my saduku book and drink my diet coke and waiting for the next feeding!

YES! So true on all of it but "next feeding" remark made me laugh.

We are so close to number 10 that I feel like taking another one in August for my birthday week, but then we would be really pushing it timewise. That would mean getting back from the Dream on June 3rd, getting back on the Dream the last week of August and getting back 22 days before sailing the Fantasy on September 24th. I just think that would be pushing it a tad. Even though it would be my 50th and worth pushing the envelope. lol
We also like staying on board ,especially if we have been there before, and since we are 7 night cruisers we have explored the Caribbean pretty well a couple of times over. (until they release the rest of 2017 anyway) And the Bahamas are pretty and all, but we just stay on the ship anytime we go there and take the Aquaduck challenge.
I dream of the day when I can say I have taken over 20 DCL cruises. I am a bit green eyed over here.

 

[Justacruiser]

My DW and I turned 50 the same year a couple of years ago and ended up that year with 7. Last year was our 30th so of course we had to do 4.

My thought about birthdays is that you are going to do something, and costly...... Might as well cruise. Platinum is pretty nice!

 

[RedSox68]

[QUOTE="Justacruiser, post: 55457494, member: 395751But, nothing beats sitting on the balcony with my saduku book and drink my diet coke and waiting for the next feeding![/QUOTE]

My daughter hoards their cookies -- cannot get enough.