Is "Sea" better than "Land"?

[luckytso]

I booked a 4 night cruise for April 2004, but now I am having second thoughts.

We fully enjoy WDW and I am not sure if we really would like to be on a ship for 4 nights, especially my kids don't seem that much into water. Also, I can't imagine the accomodations are nicer than the 1-2 bedroom units at DVC resorts. In addition, there are so many places to eat around WDW and I am not sure if we really need all that food provided on the cruise. In WDW, there are just too many places we would love to try to eat and too many resorts we would love to stay at.

Is there anyone out there feeling that they would rather go to WDW than the cruises? I am thinking about cancelling the cruise and get my deposit back for another trip in WDW, or go to HH in early summer instead. With limited vacation time, we have to figure out what we really want to do.

But this year, right now, we have already had 4 trips planned to WDW. Will we be tired of it? This is our first DVC year and it just seems that I can't wait for the next trip. I am even thinking about taking my 4 year old for a surprise trip, just the two of us, but I can't find a decent airfare in March.

Is this a really bad addiction?!!!!

 

[Kirk]

Personally I like the theme parks but I heard the cruise is worth a try too. Why don't you combine the two and get the best of both worlds?

 

[Desperado]

The child care options on a cruise sound wonderful, that might be a consideration. We have the impression that a cruise would allow us some couple's time together, while the kids are having fun with thier supervised activities.

 

[IslandHap]

We've done two 4 day DCL cruises. Each time we got off the boat, I was still wanting more.

 

[RealMickey]

DW and I did the 4 night DCL cruise last year. I did not really expect to enjoy cruising (1st cruise). But the cruise was one of my favorite vacations ever. We are planning a 7 night in a year or so. The Kids activities look entertaining. Dining was fantastic, several options for breakfast, lunch and snacks and rotating through the main restaurants for dinner. Lots of characters and Disney shows. The ports are fun, but you can have a ball and never leave the ship if you want. My favorite off ship excursion was a kayaking trip at Freeport. Give the cruise a try. I love WDW and DVC but the DCL cruises are a speacial treat.

 

[betslinc]

The cruise is a fun change of pace and the kids programs were great. It is much more low key than the parks. It is definately worth doing once. We went back and there wasn't a whole lot new, the shows were all the same and it was a bit of a dissapointment, but we had a great time the first time.

 

[caskar]

My daughters were 8 and 11 last summer when we went on a 7 day cruise and went to Disney World for 10 days. They had more fun on the ship they I expected. When I suggested this summer we might not be able to do both, they said cancel Disney World but not the cruise. I was suprised by that response. They talk about the cruise all the time. They had so much fun. And I was worried they wouldn't! The cruise was so relaxing for my wife and me. Compared to the go go go of the parks and the crowds. Even the CMs on board are nicer then the resorts or the parks. Just a wonderful time.

 

[dbkelly]

I am one of the few, who did not like the cruise. Although I did not like the cruise, I still think you should try it. People who like the cruise far out number people who do not. I think if my children were older (teenagers) in which I could let them go off on their own, I would have enjoyed the cruise much better. A large majority of the parents let their children have the run of the ship. I saw children as young as 6 or 7 on the elavators by themselves. If you don't mind unsupervised children, you will have a great time. I did not hate the cruise, I just like WDW so much better.

 

[mbhoxsie]

I say get as much time on the cruise as possible...

My wife and I have done both the 3 day cruise on the Wonder, and the 4 day cruise on the Magic (the inaugural year)...

We now vow that we will not cruise again until we manage to go on the 7 day cruise...

The boat is such a nice change of pace from the normal WDW chaos... Plus there is so much to do....

Try it.. You'll love it....

 

[shelly3girls]

We just went on our first cruise. We took the 4-day and had a fabulous time. We definitely plan to do it again although we will wait until our DD is old enough for the kids clubs. We loved the cruise and our DD made out well in Flounder's, I just think she would have had more fun in the kids club with her older sister. We highly recommend the cruise for a change of pace. We love WDW, the cruise just offered a more relaxing vacation.

 

[DVCGirl49]

We did the 3 day land / 4 day sea cruise back in DCL's first few months. It was great! One reccommendation, definitely do the WDW part FIRST, then the cruise part. The cruise is a nice & relaxing way to wind up a trip!

 

[luckytso]

we will wait until our DD is old enough for the kids clubs. We loved the cruise and our DD made out well in Flounder's, I just think she would have had more fun in the kids club with her older sister.

This is exactly what I am thinking too. My younger one will still be under 3 and the older one will be almost 6. In another 2 years, maybe it will be a better age combination to go to the kids club together.


Thanks

 

[shelly3girls]

If your choice is to only cruise once, I would wait until the youger child is older. If you plan to cruise more than once, you will still have a wonderful time even with a baby. That is just my opinion and I am sure that plenty will disagree. Either way I don't think you can lose, you will have a fabulous vacation.

 

[vbfamily]

What is there to do on a cruise if you do not want to put your children in one of the clubs?

Could we go on a cruise and do most things together like at WDW or VB?

We were thinking about a cruise but we will put it off if there are only adult oriented activities and kid oriented activities and not something that combines the two-besides the pools.

Any info?

We just never use the kid's clubs at WDW-DH and I might go out if my MIL is with us to watch the kids but other than that we usually do everything together.

DD is 4 and DS is 6. Would we hate the cruise if we plan on never using the clubs? Would they have to be in seperate ones?

I think I'm answering my own question here. It will probably be a couple of years before we go. I must just be paranoids but the thought of 6 and 7 yr olds running around the ship by themselves scares me.

 

[shelly3girls]

vbfamily
You should check out the cruise boards, there is a great deal of info available. I think you would have a fabulous time even if your children did not want to go to the clubs. My DD's (2 and 4) loved the shows, Castaway Cay, the pools, etc. There are many things to do that will keep you entertained. We had no intention of using the clubs, but my very shy DD insisted on going after she saw the other kids. We have never used any kind of kids club before as I normally do not feel comfortable using them. I was very comfortable while on the cruise. My DD4 continually talks about all of the fun she had. If you have any questions please feel free to pm me.

 

[LisaR]

Luckytso,
I think you should go on the cruise. That way you can report back here what it was like because my concerns are exactly the same as yours! lol

We are used to so much space in our 2 bedroom DVC resorts. The rooms on the ship are so tiny! We enjoy lounging around in our room in the morning eating out on our porch. We like to eat when were hungry not at a set time like on the ship. I understand you can eat at places other then the restaurants on board but if we are paying that much, I am going to want to get the most out of our meals. I can't imagine my kids sitting through long dinners every night either. I wouldn't want to use the kids clubs now because our kids still enjoy doing things with us! Yet, I am sure they would love the clubs.

As you can see, we have convinced ourselves to not take a cruise for now. Maybe when the kids are older. In contrast, my sister is going on her 58th cruise next month! Every single person I know that has been on a cruise loves it. For some reason, I just can't muster up enough positives for our family to take a cruise......yet. Good luck in your decision!

Lisa

 

[JOC]

We (me, DH, DS 17 and DS 3) cruised for the first time in December because our 17 yr. old wanted to cruise instead of going to WDW. This was also going to be a Christmas/early graduation present for him. We compromised and did the 4-day Wonder, followed by six nights at WDW. Our 17 yr. old loved the cruise because he made friends with some other teenagers in Common Grounds (the teen club) so he hung out with them a lot. My husband and I liked the cruise but not enough to go again anytime soon. Our 3 yr. old liked watching the kids in the clubs, but he didn't want to stay there without us around (he goes to daycare every day as DH and I both work but he's not comfortable around people he doesn't know). This made it hard for us to do adult stuff alone, as we didn't want to "make" our 17 yr. old babysit the whole time since this cruise was supposed to be fun for him too. Also, as LisaR mentioned, everything on the ship is structured (shows at a certain time, character greetings at a certain time, etc.) and we didn't care for that. We much preferred the freedom of being on land and at WDW. If we do decide to go again, we'll wait until our three year old is a bit older.

P.S. These are just my experiences and opinions...I think you should try the cruise at least once to decide for yourself whether or not cruising is for you.

 

[sgtpet]

I thoroughly enjoy my time at WDW but I think the Disney Cruise Line is the best Disney has to offer hands down.