I just didn't like the cruise.

[dbkelly]

I don't appreciate the comments that there is something wrong with me for not enjoying the cruise as much as others. I did enjoy the cruise, but not as much as I thought. I only posted my message so people can be better prepared. We have gone to WDW at least 10 times and we have thoroughly enjoyed every vacation, I thought I would have just as much fun on a cruise. I did say in my original post that it was meant to inform people and not deter them from a cruise.

As for misbehaving children, I forgot to mention that my husband witnessed an 8 or 9 year old boy push a boy in a wheelchair down a flight of stairs. Fortunately, the boy was not hurt. Both boys thought it was hilarious.

Also, to answer a previous question, we were in room 8588 (aft). To my surprise, the ship rocked from side to side and not back and forth. At least that is the way I felt it. Therefore, I am not sure if it matters whether you are in aft, midship or forward. I think it would matter more if you were higher on the ship. Since we were a family of five, the only deck we could be is on deck 8.

Finally, I had a medical emergency while I was on the ship in the middle of the ocean and I was very impressed with the medical staff. I live in the Boston area and we have superior health care and I was afraid that one of my kids would need some sort of care while on the ship and I was concerned about the staff. Needless to say, I am the one who ended up needing the care. The doctor was so pleasant and very impressive. He really knew his stuff! I am O.K. now, it appears that I have gall stones and I experienced my first gall bladder attact in the middle of the ocean. I rarely have fried food in my normal diet, but anything goes on your vacation and I could not pass up the fried coconut shrimp. I was ordered by the doctor to eat a fat free diet on a cruise ship! The servers were wonderful in getting me whatever I could possibly eat.

D. B. Kelly

 

[trishy]

I started a thread after our cruise in July, 2001 titled "Too Many Unsupervised Kids" so I can relate to that issue. I also complained about the chaos in the pools (except the Adult Pool, of course - pure heaven) I just want to add that I wrote a letter to DCL regarding my complaints and suggested they raise the age limit of check in/out privileges to 13. They sent me the standard "Thanks for taking the time to write." form letter. They obviously are not interested in this subject since it is still going on. Let me point out something listed in the DCL brochure (current issue) "Parents sign their children (ages 3-12) in and out of the programs. ..." Pg. 65 WHAT??? I asked for a pager for my 10 yr. old daughter and they told me 10-12 check themselves in/out and 8-9 can if the parents opts for it. Ridiculous in my opinion since *Every* child needs supervision. Even teens need to be checked on periodically during the day. Here's a twist on a problem I witnessed numerous times last year - hormones were flying on the July 7, 2001 cruise (parents read this) We came across MANY teens making out late at night in, what they thought, were secluded areas. Lets see, empty cabin, unsupervised hormonal teens, mom/dad out partying at Rockin' Bar D, hmm... Anyway, I am going on the July 6-Western and expect to see this stuff again. Like other posters have stated, now that we all know the real deal, we can plan for it so it will not be such a *shock* Bottom line is DCL is a great cruise, fun activities, and a relaxing vacation - no laundry, gardening, cooking, cleaning - can't beat it. Fortunately, my children enjoyed the clubs and it was like pulling teeth to get them to leave just to dine with us, see the occasional show, and go to the family parties in Studio Sea. I'm a West Coaster and can tell you the time difference didn't matter. My kids were tired by 9 p.m. from all the activities during the day, but they kept wanting to party.

 

[I Luv Disney Cruise]

I have been on three of the DCL cruise (2 of the 4 day and one of the 7 day). I am going on the Western 7 day in about 2 1/2 weeks.

I just wanted to get my 2 cents in. My husband, family and I have throughly enjoyed the cruises. Yes, there are times the pools and decks are crowded. We have also seen them empty, clean and refill the Mickey pool many of times on our cruises.

I am sorry to hear about the misbehaving children and teens. That is pretty sad that the parents have no control of their children.

Out of all three cruises I have only felt a little nauseated when we would clear the coast of FL, which only (the nausea) lasted a few hours. We have never had any big rocking motions, but we also go in May and maybe that is why.

For those out there that are nervous about these negative comments, please don't be. The cruise, food, activities, etc are wonderful and is something you should experience.

 

[ErinC]

DBKelly, thanks so much for your comments. We are doing our first 4 day in May. I have wondered several times if we are going to enjoy the cruise, and I think my expectations are where they should be. No one has the right to make you feel bad about your experience, or should they judge you for sharing your thoughts on your cruise. We are following our cruise with 4 days at VWL, that I KNOW I will enjoy, so at least ,if all else fails, the vacation will end well. The things that bothered you , are things that can really get on my nerves, so I'll try to look out for them, and avoid those situations. Those boys that your husband saw push that boy in the wheelchair, should have been thrown overboard, or at least locked in their room for the duration of the cruise. I have no tolerance for people that allow their children to go around making everyone else's life miserable. I have a DD that is 2 , and can sometimes be a handful. I have considered requesting a table for 4 at dinner,just so she won't infringe on any else's quality time. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate your comments, and others may disagree, that's what this board is all about. Erin

 

[GenieNet]

This is a very interesting post, and I was on the 7-Day Magic and I have to say I really enjoyed everything *I* decided to do. My 8 year old nephew was there, and was not allowed to roam freely, and he didn't care because he was having fun in the clubs. I notice a lot of teens roaming around and being teenagers, but that's just it, it's not my responsibility to be their parent.

As far as the rough seas, it's an assumption of risk. You're in the middle of the ocean, it happens.

The pools and decks are overcrowded, but that's something you would know if you've taken more than one cruise...the "Love Boat" images of everyone having a lounge chair and a poolside seat are not reality...

I really enjoyed it, and since it was *my* vacation, I just took everything with the package, good and bad...the annoying hair braiders in St. Maarten, the overcrowded shopping in St. Thomas, and more were sore points, but it was something I was forewarned about by reading these boards and by taking a little extra time to plan on board, I avoided putting myself in difficult situations.

 

[LARRY DORMAN]

Ok on my last trip the 7 day eastern. I was on the rear of the ship at 4 am. I worked night and had hard time sleeping so got up to go on deck. A very nice young lady came up and we started talking she was 5 years old.......

I was not happy with this at all. I asked her where her mom or dad was she advised in the room.... I asked if she had been to the room and she signed herself out of the kids room and had gone to her state room and told her mom she was going to walk around.. And had left about 11 PM..

Some of the ship workers have been on this ship for some time and things can happen..
Im also a 20 year cop. I could have killed this child and other things and pitched her over board.

I was sick so I took her to her stateroom and advised her dad that I found her I told him I was a cop, he advised me that she can stay out all night if she likes and to mind my of biz..

I have a 10 year old and I don't let her sign out. She has a radio 2 way and will never get to just walk the deck..

I talked to the security person of the ship a ret police officer he advised kid have run of the ship night and day.

May god keep them safe...

 

[Parrotheader]

Definitely a very interesting post. I'm always curious to read the not-so-glowing commentaries as they tend to keep my expectations in line. We'll be going on our first cruise (a 3 day) in late May.

And I do want to second the comments pointing out the time zone differences. I don't mean this to sound rude, but after dealing with this all the time in other forums as well as in business dealings, sometimes people forget that not everybody lives in the Eastern time zone (something the rest of us are made well aware of each year when the networks let us watch reruns of the New Year's celebration in Times Square ) If you were from the western portions of the country your kids might not even be hungry at the late dinner seating, much less sleepy at 10:00 Eastern time. Still, I wouldn't let my young child wander the ship unattended late at night. Of course, our children are still a couple years away so that's not a problem yet.

And the more I read about how crowded the kids pools are (I personally think that should be somewhat expected though) the better I feel about the fact that we'll be in the adults-only areas for almost the entire cruise. I'm not assuming those areas will be completely empty or anything. But I'm guessing that they'll be at least a LOT more calm than the family areas.

 

[aalan]

my wife and i were on the 3/23 magic cruise; we do not have any children, and i did not feel like we were surrounded and overrun with unsupervised kids. the pools are the most crowded areas, thats just the way it is. you cant have large pools on a cruise ship: they would become dangerous in rough weather. complaining about hot weather on the beach in the bahamas just seems a little silly to me: be sure to wear a hat and use plenty of sunscreen. i actually thought the family beach had a lot of palm trees: my wife and i spent most of the day at the adult beach, and it was heaven! (but fewer palm trees) we had a great time, and if you are any kind of disney fan at all, you will enjoy the cruise. don't let one negative post influence you. the over-whelming opinion on these boards of the cruise line is a positive one. after taking our first cruise, i can see why. we are planning a western caribbean cruise for next year!

 

[liza]

Larry, your post is incredibly alarming. If the parents didn't appreciate your returning their 5-year-old, they should have. I appreciate it!

But I just cannot believe a 5-year-old checked herself out of the Oceaneer's Club. I do know for a fact that the club will allow children younger than 8 to have sign-out privileges, because my son was 2 months away from being 8 when we cruised, and he was tempted to go in the Lab instead of the Club, so I asked if that was possible, and a counselor told me if he went in the Lab we could give him sign-out privileges if we wanted to, and showed me a form to sign saying that because he was under 8 we acknowledged they had no responsibility if he signed himself out. Of course I didn't sign, and in fact that helped me decide he had to go in the Club and not the Lab, but I find it difficult to believe the staff would grant sign-out privileges to a 5-year-old even WITH the parents' agreement. Of course, I cannot believe the parents would let the child out of the room at all without them. I guess it takes all kinds...

 

[My~Rumbly~Tumbly]

Hi Larry

That is EXACTLY what I was getting at in my post on page 2. Really scary. In addition to my two little ones, I have a 9 and 13 year old step-daughter. It would be an agonizing decision to let even those two roam unsupervised and they are very well behaved children. It's not the behaved thing and it's not the being up late at night thing (though VERY good point about the time zones!). For me it's all about them being safe!

 

[taswira]

Larry, obviously those "parents" don't take parental responsibilities seriously. Those who are like that on a cruise are probably the same on land - in theme parks, restaurants, supermarkets. Parenthood is like a job, an occupation that requires knowledge, skills and the right attitude to be "successful." I often think it's too bad (for the children) that it doesn't require a license! There is nothing wrong with adults putting their kids in the clubs/labs and having time to themselves while <I>knowing</I> where the kids are, but to let a 5 year old roam the decks from 11pm to 4am? If they were from <I>anywhere</I> in the U.S., there's no time zone that would make those hours appropriate for a child that age, even aside from the SAFETY issue. I'm glad that not all parents are so irresponsible.

 

[kidzmom3]

Wow Larry, this is unbelievable. As far as I am concerned a 5 year old should never be alone. I will only let my 6 year old alone in the yard, if all the gates are locked and closed and I am in the kitchen, with sliders to the back yard open. I personally don't think kids have much common sense until later in life. And then its very individual. Some are ready earlier than others, some are never ready. My ds 8 is bascially a good kid, but he is easily influenced by stronger personalities. Thats why I think he is not a good candidate for sign out privelages. I second Larry may God watch over some of these kids, whos parents don't seem to care. (and I mean kids everywhere who have neglectful parents, not just kids on a cruise, even the awesome, stupendous Disney cruise)