Is the Disney Cruise a good idead for a Honeymoon?!

[Makayna]

We LOVED our HM on DCL; we had a couples massage in the cabana at Castaway that was heavenly and we were so excited to have the time to unwind after our crazy wedding.

One thing that I would suggest is setting up a Honeymoon registry through Disney. My DH and I did this and people were so kind and payed for pretty much all of our "extras" on the boat. We had money left over after we got off the boat, so we saved the card and used it at Disney the following week. It was great and people were so excited to buy us our excursion, drinks, etc. Look into it!


ETA: here is the link to the registry website, super easy to use for everyone involved!
http://honeymoonregistry.disney.go....n_US/modules/render/homePage/hpHomePageRender

Thank you for posting that link!!! I just registered on there, but I have got to say, that honeymoon registry is seriously lacking! NOTHING at Disneyland! NOTHING! It's virtually all geared towards Disney World and the Bahamas cruise. We didn't register for much, since we're doing the repo cruise from Vancouver to LA, and there was not a thing for Disney Land. But we did find a few things that we liked. Thanks for the link!!!

 

[thedonduck]

Thank you for posting that link!!! I just registered on there, but I have got to say, that honeymoon registry is seriously lacking! NOTHING at Disneyland! NOTHING! It's virtually all geared towards Disney World and the Bahamas cruise. We didn't register for much, since we're doing the repo cruise from Vancouver to LA, and there was not a thing for Disney Land. But we did find a few things that we liked. Thanks for the link!!!

Just a heads up, it is really just a gift card that people "buy" the item, but in all reality you can spend the money however you would like. Unless they specifically purchase something and have it sent to your cabin, it really is just a credit for you to be able to purchase. We really did use 90% of it the way we registered, but some of it we changed our mind last minute and used the GC for drinks! So no worries for the lack of DL merchandise. Congrats on your upcoming wedding.

 

[Makayna]

Just a heads up, it is really just a gift card that people "buy" the item, but in all reality you can spend the money however you would like. Unless they specifically purchase something and have it sent to your cabin, it really is just a credit for you to be able to purchase. We really did use 90% of it the way we registered, but some of it we changed our mind last minute and used the GC for drinks! So no worries for the lack of DL merchandise. Congrats on your upcoming wedding.

Oh!!! I totally didn't know that! I thought that whatever they "buy" has to be attributed to that item. Good to know. Thanks!

 

[sunshine1259]

Oh!!! I totally didn't know that! I thought that whatever they "buy" has to be attributed to that item. Good to know. Thanks!

What we did was register at "thebigday.com". We were able to put all of the "Disney" things that we wanted and folks were able to put part or all of the amount toward that particular item. The best part is that it is all on an account. That way you could use the "gift" as you choose. It worked out great.

I just didn't like the 'gift card' idea, especially if it was only for WDW and we didn't manage to use it all.

 

[Meghatron]

We did a 7-night MR for our honeymoon and it was fantastic. Even the dining room staff seated us with two other couples travelling without kids, so dinner continued our "adult time." The spa villa for two was AMAZING and we had no complaints about activities for adults. One night we spent dancing to The Dreamers by the adult pool, under the stars, and then had a late-night swim. Sure, there are kids onboard, but so will other cruise ships, and certainly the parks! Totally kid-free would require a non-Disney honeymoon like Sandals. And since it seems you're Disney freaks like us, that simply won't do.

Do the parks first, so you can relax on the cruise, and definitely do the honeymoon registry. Even with the limited options available for the ship, we still were given over $2500 on our gift card to spend however we wanted. If you're doing WDW as well you'll be able to registry for tons of options. It was really nice to have a vacation not worrying about money: drink as much as we wanted at dinner and all the numerous bars onboard, choosing whichever Disney excursions we wanted, a spree in the gift shops... it was an incredible gift and made writing thank you notes so much more meaningful because we could write about real things instead of "I am looking forward to cooking asparagus in this asparagus cooker."

Any money you don't use stays on the card. We put our extra towards a birthday cruise for our DD next April when she turns three.

 

[NancyIL]

We went to Disney World for a few days on our honeymoon. Wait...that was in 1982! My 3 Disney Bahamas cruises have been with another adult (not my husband). I enjoyed my cruises, but I prefer to sail with far fewer children onboard. My longer cruises on other cruise lines have had few children, and that's how I prefer them.

 

[ssanders79]

We did a WDW Wedding and a DCL 3 night plus another week at the parks and it was great . I just wish it was a longer cruise.

 

[makaylee]

I would think so. I just got done telling my dd13 lastnight that we will send her on a Disney Cruise for her honeymoon because she always complaines about not being able to go to Palo.

 

[TXDCLfan]

IMHO the Disney cruise ship is not an ideal cruise for Honeymooners. There are two other cruiselines that you can take out of Port Canaveral and are much better for two persons in love. There are more things to do on the Carnival Dream or the Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas. To be very frank, those cruiselines are better set up for honeymooners than the DCL which is more a family and kids cruise venue. There are also less kids at the pools with the pool areas being better planned on the non-Disney ships. You can probably get two extra days of cruising for the same price that you would pay for 5 days on the DCL.

You might consider 3 days in the park and 7 days on a cruise. I mention cruise, a great choice for honeymooners, because it provides much more intimacy and just together times without a lot of crowds to fight and walking to do. My first cruise was a honeymoon cruise on a very small ship, compared to what they have nowadays, and it was the right choice.

If Disney cruise line had been around when we got married we would have cruised with them in a heart beat Looks like you are in the minority on this one.

 

[Mackie Mouse]

DH and I did three days in the parks and a 7-nigh cruise for our honeymoon and loved it. You have to be willing to put up with kids in your general vicinity - let's face it, it's Disney - but as any adult Dineyphile knows, acting like a kid again is sometimes more fun than actually being a kid. The adult activities and areas on the Magic were all top-notch when we went, as well. Palo is awesome, and I will second the messages at Castaway Cay! To die for! We had so much fun that we're still kidless and are cruising on the dream in about two months. Let me know if you want any further advice!

 

[lovethedream]

If Disney cruise line had been around when we got married we would have cruised with them in a heart beat Looks like you are in the minority on this one.

If I were going to go on a cruise for my honeymoon, having been on the DCL Wonder and the RCCL Freedom... I would pick DCL. We found, for what we like to do, just as much, if not more, to do on the Wonder that on the Freedom. We are looking forward to the day we can sail DCL without the kids.

We recently canceled a second cruise on RCCL Freedom and booked with DCL.

To the OP. Good luck and hope for the best in whatever decision you make.

And congratulations!

 

[sambycat]

we had our honeymoon on the maiden voyage in january. i would disagree with a PP about disney being "only" kid/family friendly. we've never cruised with kids! there is plenty adult to do and i prefer a "family" atmosphere over how i percieve other cruise ships. that said, disney is the most expensive..

now, i *thought* the disney registry was only for if you have your wedding at disney, but i'm probably wrong on that. the site is lousy though, ours rarely worked, its down all the time and i still see people complaining about it vigorously on the wedding threads! you can easily use other sites and link say disney gift cards or a honeyfund to your registry if you wanted.

congrats!

 

[com_op_2000]

We did our honeymoon on a Disney Cruise and it was perfect.

As the Dream has an adults-only pool, adults-only restaurants (both of which are ideal for romantic dinners), adults-only clubs, and an adults-only Beach, it's fairly easy to avoid kids. Plus the adults-only areas tend to be less crowded than the family areas.

I second this information. DW and I have done six DCLs by ourselves, we have a romantic time each and everytime. Our honeymoon was on a cruise ship 25 years ago.

 

[thedonduck]

we had our honeymoon on the maiden voyage in january. i would disagree with a PP about disney being "only" kid/family friendly. we've never cruised with kids! there is plenty adult to do and i prefer a "family" atmosphere over how i percieve other cruise ships. that said, disney is the most expensive..

now, i *thought* the disney registry was only for if you have your wedding at disney, but i'm probably wrong on that. the site is lousy though, ours rarely worked, its down all the time and i still see people complaining about it vigorously on the wedding threads! you can easily use other sites and link say disney gift cards or a honeyfund to your registry if you wanted.

congrats!

Sorry, nope. It definitely works on the cruise. You have to "select" the honeymoon you are taking, but like I said it is just a gift card that people add money to (unless again they order you something like a cheese plate or wine that gets delivered to the room.) We didn't end up using all of the money on the GC and used the remaining about 5 months later in Disney World.

OP--> just remember to take advantage of the adult areas. My DH and I had no issues having a romantic honeymoon. Everything is what you make of it. Have an absolute blast!

 

[siburdue]

My Fiance and I are toying around with the idea of doing the 5 night cruise to the bahamas and 5 nights at the parks when we get back. We both love disey but never been on the cruise.

It looks like it would be a lot of fun!


For those that been on the cruise would this be a good trip for a Honeymoon?!


Thanks!!!

My husband and I did the 7 day land and sea vacation for our honeymoon. We did the land part first, then the cruise. We had a great time! They told us there were 900 children on the ship, but since we are kids at heart, it never bothered us at all! Disney put us with other honeymooners for the dinner rotation. All ages 20s to 70s it was great. We did a wedding package (not sure if this is still available), and had a Disney photographer take us around the magic kingdom taking photos of us (in Cinderellas castle, and on Cinderellas castle, in the garden, etc), which were photos of a lifetime. We also did a couples massage on the beach at Castaway Cay. The package also included his/hers cinderella watches and one cinderalla (wedding) pin. I wore that pin the entire vacation and we got a bunch of extra 'freebies' on-site at WDW! We got a free bottle of champage at one place, free dessert at several places, plus lots of extra smiles and great tables. Everyone wished us well on our honeymoon - I really ate it up! This type of honeymoon is highly recommended by us. We got an outside room with a large window and loved it. We did go to Palo and the adult areas (nite clubs, etc) quite a bit. But we also went to the shows and there were tons of kids there, but it never bothered us. Have a great trip!

 

[collegeprogram01]

Thank you all soooooo much for your input!!! I think we are leaning towards a 5 night cruise and 5 nights at the poly!!!! Again thank youbto everyone for taking the time to share your experiences!!!

 

[Paragd911]

If you guys Love Disney... Its a great place to go. We did it!!!

 

[NurseNash]

We did our honeymoon (way back in 1999) as a Land/Sea package. We did 4 days at WDW and a 3 day cruise. It was so wonderful and so perfect that we scrimped and saved every extra penny we had to go back and do the exact same trip a little over a year later. It was our honeymoon that made us fall head over heels in love with Disney. We stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter and I felt it had a very romantic feel. The cruise was a-ma-zing. We did a couples spa treatment, had a dinner at Palo, loved the adults only beach at Castaway Cay. It was wonderful and I don't have even one memory of kids being annoying or ruining our romantic bliss.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

Absolutely.

DW and I did it for ours. That was back in the Big Red Boat days. You'll have a blast.

 

[collectoraholic]

I think it is a lovely idea. I've been on 13 Disney cruises, and 6 of them have been w/o kids, so I'd say YES, DCL would make a lovely honeymoon. & I agree, if you are going to to do the parks as well, do those FIRST and do DCL last so you end on a relaxing high-note.

Congratulations and Best Wishes on your upcoming nuptials.