If you sailed many DCL cruises do you think you are bored with it?

[gumbypee]

I have only sailed once (2012) and I had a blast! I have had other vacations but I hope to go back on a DCL next May 2016. I think the magic and fun will still be there.

for those that are a little disheartened with DCL, do you think it partially has to do with how many cruises on DCL you have done? I mean, i would think it would tend to get old after a few cruises on all ships.

Just curious on thoughts

edited to add: if you reply can you say how many DCL you have done? thanks

 

[JimmyV]

for those that are a little disheartened with DCL, do you think it partially has to do with how many cruises on DCL you have done?

No. If DCL were "even up" in pricing and itineraries with other cruise lines, I would sail with them again and again and again. We tend not to repeat itineraries so boredom isn't a factor. I can never be bored as long as the itinerary is new and exciting and the ship is well-maintained and fun. But unfortunately the prices are not "even up" and the price difference has spread to the point where I just can't consider DCL to be a viable option unless and until something changes there.

 

[OKW Lover]

We've sailed all four ships over our 13 DCL cruises. No we didn't find it got old. We enjoy ourselves every time we sail.

 

[budamacdvcr]

All 4 ships, some repeat itineraries but not bored at all. Only thing we struggle with is going to the Disney shows we have already seen a couple of times but that gives us more time to do other things.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

My wife and I have our seventh cruise booked on the Disney Dream. Our second cruise on this beautiful ship for the winter of 2016. Once upon a time we thought we would never do a Disney cruise shorter than seven nights because; it would just be waaaaaayyy too short. But we are looking forward to this cruise; just as much as we have been for any of the other cruises we have taken on DCL. We are planners and will book our cruises as soon as the new dates are introduced, reducing the cost right there so for us we do not find DCL pricing us out. And even if we used to bring alcohol on board with us (we never had), with the new policy reducing the amount allowed I can't imagine this being a reason to cancel. And yes I DO LIKE TO PURCHASE WINE, BEER, AND MIXED DRINKS while cruising so I do know that I can save money by taking my own. When we don't want to get off the ship because we have 'been there done that' at this particular port we enjoy a more empty ship!!!

We have NEVER BEEN DISAPPOINTED on a Disney Cruise.

 

[JimmyV]

We are planners and will book our cruises as soon as the new dates are introduced, reducing the cost right there so for us we do not find DCL pricing us out.

If by this you mean that by booking early, the gap between DCL and its competitors shrinks a bit, I suppose this is true. But if you mean that by booking early, you are getting prices that are in line with other cruise lines, this is way off.

 

[aprincessatlast]

We have been 5 x and honestly I want to do one more trip before we take a big break until kids are older. Just so many places to see! There have been many times where I feel I have deja vú. I do wish they would change out the shows and food a bit more. So yeah I guess it gets old a bit however..

There are many who go to WDW a bajillion times and say it is a new trip everytime, however I am not one of those people. I think so much has to do with ones personality if it gets repetative or not. Some people love repetition, it is comfortable to them and there is nothing wrong with that! Others love a new adventure everytime and others are like me and like a little of both.

 

[shelbell77]

10 cruises, with 11 booked. All 4 ships. Many repeated itineraries. Not remotely bored!!!

 

[bumbershoot]

for those that are a little disheartened with DCL, do you think it partially has to do with how many cruises on DCL you have done? I mean, i would think it would tend to get old after a few cruises on all ships.

Since I'm one of those disheartened ones, I can probably participate.

I've done 4 cruises with Disney, all on Dream. So I'm nowhere near the "few cruises on all ships" mark. I was already disheartened because i just don't see the oomph for my money. We're different in that I don't go to musical shows; the time I saw Golden Mickey's I thought I was going to die from hating the whole thing. Villains is OK but...I don't know many of the characters and if I want to see a comedian in blue paint riff I'll go see Aladdin at DCA. I'm not a character person (though it's lovely that Jack Sparrow can still be found on Dream...I haven't seen him yet, since I was running the 5K while DS and DH met him, but I like that he's *there*) so that's not a draw. I find the food, for the most part, and I'm talking about the vegetarian food here, nearly atrocious.

Given all those drawbacks that were there from the first DCL cruise for us, the cost really makes it crazy. I haven't gotten a 7 night on Royal for *less* than a 4-night on Disney, but the per night cost for the 3 of us on Royal has definitely been lower. Much lower. And I feel we get the same good stuff and less bad stuff. The only bad stuff, for me, is the smoking allowed in the casino on Royal. I don't care about a casino, but the casino makes it more fun for DH, who is quite good at blackjack and knows how to not lose his shirt at it as well. He also knows to bag up his clothing the moment he gets back from the casino and go shower so I don't have an asthma attack.

Then you add in all the stuff they are changing on DCL, and it just gets worse and worse! Even if I don't partake in some of the things, like bringing on liquor or having things signed by backstage "characters", I hate that they are taking those away from others.

On Royal you can't bring on liquor, and their wine allowance is lower from embarkation than Disney, but that hasn't *changed* for them, and they are much easier on our pocketbook.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

If by this you mean that by booking early, the gap between DCL and its competitors shrinks a bit, I suppose this is true. But if you mean that by booking early, you are getting prices that are in line with other cruise lines, this is way off.

I have never said in this post or previous ones that by booking as soon as the new dates are released by DCL that it is competitive with other cruise lines. But I do know that for EVERY cruise we have taken; the closer we approach the sail date, I have looked at the DCL website and put in our exact cruise, category, and number of guests and it was always more expensive than when we booked. And I will be honest, I have never looked into other cruise lines (by choice) because my wife and I have never, ever been disappointed in our previous six DCL cruises. If you look down in my signature you will notice that we are booked on Celebrity Cruise Line for an Alaska cruise, this is because of two other couples we are cruising with. They did not want to try Disney, we would rather go with another cruise line and sail with family and friends. They are more important than brand loyalty. We actually cancelled our DCL Alaska cruise to do this but changed it to a four night Disney Dream cruise later in the year with three nights at WDW.

I do not believe 'that you' are implying this, but nothing makes me more upset than when someone says we (DCL fans) are wasting our money by sticking with DCL. I bet if I walk into the home of those that do I would find plenty of things that I would never think to purchase no matter how much money I have.

 

[KashasMom]

We've done 4 Disney cruises, 3 in the last 3 years, which are the ones I'll reference. My daughter celebrated her 3rd birthday on the Magic. The big draw at the time was sailing out of NYC (our home port). Wasn't impressed with the itinerary and sadly the Magic was looking a little bit worn. However, my daughter had a great time with all the characters and princesses. To be honest, if we hadn't spent so much time in line to meet the characters/princesses, I think we would have been a little bored. Our second was on the Fantasy (my favorite Disney ship). My daughter wasn't quite tall enough for the Aquaduck but had enough fun anyway. We went to all the shows and she enjoyed those. We loved being able to see Frozen in the WD Theater. Another plus was that it was Christmas time and the ship was wonderfully decorated. We had also done several days at the WDW parks prior to the cruise and had a blast. It was a little cool on that cruise though...and we had an obnoxious waiter.

We did another Fantasy this past February 14 months after our prior Fantasy cruise. My daughter who was almost 6 actually remembered the shows from the prior cruise. Although she loved the character dance parties, the charm of the princesses and characters were wearing off. She was tall enough for the Aquaduck but had a not so great experience in the kids' club. (It was the first time we actually got her into a Disney club.)

We have another Magic cruise booked for Nov. 2016. The only reason I booked it was because timing was good, price was good (for Disney) and it sails out of and into my 2 favorite ports. I also know that it will be our last Disney cruise. And I'm fine with that. There is nothing that will keep me on Disney. The itineraries are boring. (I hate that the Dream doesn't do a 7 night and given my feelings about the Magic, I know I wouldn't like the Wonder.) The shows really need to change. The food is just okay. My daughter is now more interested in rock climbing walls, ropes courses, and roller coasters. Fortunately I will still be able to get MY Disney fix at WDW while she's enjoying those roller coasters! So for us, it's not necessarily the amount of times we cruised Disney, we've just outgrown it. We've tried other lines and there really is life after Disney so all is good!

 

[plutos1fan]

Hi,

Our Family has been on six cruises thus far and we have two coming up. Honestly, I do not think there would be any way I would get "bored"on DCL. Our family always finds something new and exciting to do on this ships even if it is the smallest thing. I will never be completely bored or sick of DCL, especially the Wonder how they have her right now!

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Never find Disney, anything Disney has bored us. the Magic Marchs on!


AKK

 

[JimmyV]

I wasn't trying to be argumentative. I was just seeking clarification. And with the statement below, you have clarified.

And I will be honest, I have never looked into other cruise lines (by choice)

Your statement that DCL has not priced you out of the market is a neutral statement that is taken at face value and means that you are happy paying their prices. Nothing wrong with that at all. Disney could charge 10x as much as its competitors and it would still be a true statement to many that DCL has not priced itself out of their range. Because "price range" is simply relative to what the customer is willing to pay and is not linked to what the competition charges. So I wasn't trying to take a jab at you at all. I just didn't want anyone else who came to this thread for an education to be misled into thinking that early DCL pricing is on par with that of other cruise lines. Your post could have been interpreted that way by someone who is new to all of this. If you ever find occasion to price other cruise lines, you will find that I am not being critical of you in the least and am merely trying to clear up a point on pricing.

 

[MunFam]

I have only been on one cruise...given it was a 15 day cruise (so its like five 3-nighters) but still...I am extremely disappointed in the WAY they are handling the changes. Not giving notice to passengers in time to cancel really bothers me and I do not find that to be a kosher business practice that I want to give my vacation dollars to.

The taking away of hard alcohol and the Mickey Mail are fine if it is no longer working for them as a company. Its how they implemented the changes that bother me. They did not give like...a year's notice or "grandfather in" all of the previous bookings. THAT I take issue with. What if I had a trip booked and it was specifically over a service DCL offered and then they just up and cancelled it? I get that it is in my cruise contract, BUT the way they make the changes so abruptly makes me not trust them. If they were in line with comparable cruise lines price-wise, I would give it more consideration, but because they are much more expensive, I take the added perks in to consideration when I am making my choice and because they have proven over and over that they will just do what they want when they want, I do not trust them enough to book a vacation with them again.

 

[tinkerone]

for those that are a little disheartened with DCL, do you think it partially has to do with how many cruises on DCL you have done? I mean, i would think it would tend to get old after a few cruises on all ships.

this is an interesting question. two months ago i would not have said having sailed dcl a lot that it was old or boring however, with all the changes lately, i would say its getting old. we have a b2b coming up and i'm not as excited as i was. we seldom go to the shows anymore, they seem kind of stale with the exception of aladin (JMO). the menus seldom change. the ports for most caribbean sailings are pretty standard, been there done that.
i am looking forward to sailing rcl next year, it will all be fresh.

so, is it that I'm disheartened with dcl or has it to do with it all getting old……..which came first, the chicken or the egg.

 

[bobbiwoz]

We are senior citizens, I've been on all 4 ships, 14 DCL cruises. We have 5 total upcoming cruises booked. 2 are on DCL, 2 are on RCCL and 1 is on Princess. I love DCL cruises, and I am not tired of them, but we book itinerary as well as ambiance on the ship. We both love to cruise. Our favorite cruise was DCL's WBPC cruise, but we are soon going to do Princess's partial transit which stops in Panama as well as Costa Rica.

 

[TChrist05]

We have done 36 Disney cruises, many 3 and 7 day ones. We also did 2 Transatlantic and the inag Hawaii. Never bored on the ships just not happy with everything that we have lost along the way. Will be going on 9/25 for our 37th with our adult daughter and am looking forward to it. Then we take a break for a while and will sail RC next year.

 

[Toddymae]

I've done 41 cruise since 2001 and next week will be 42. Bored never! The ship is the destination.

People are in the mood to complain right now because DCL has made some changes. Big Deal. Everything changes - somethings we like some we don't.

 

[gumbypee]

Thank you to the ones posting a reply to what my real question was.

I really didn't mean for it to get into price or change in policy. Just wondering if the magic dies after so many cruises. Maybe I could have phrased it that way, sorry!

I wasn't even thinking about comparing to parks bc I could take a Disney trip every year and be happy! So I can see how Disney fans probably not get bored now! Thanks!