Just back-- very disappointed

[CarolAnnC]

DVCcajun, sorry you did not enjoy your Disney Cruise.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but not comforting. When I planned our first cruise my DD's were teens and my late DH and I were celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary. We considered a longer cruise, and also considered other cruise lines. But we were such Disney lovers, and the 4 day cruise they offered seemed the best way to test the cruise waters, lol. So we combined the 4 day with a WDW trip before and after the cruise.

We ended up loving the cruise and my girls and I have continued on cruising along with my new husband, John. So for anyone out there reading this and considering a first time cruise, I would recommend the 3 or 4 day cruise. Much less $$ and time saved if it turns out to not be your cup of tea.

 

[mrsfuzzmo]

Don't give up on cruising all together. I had been on 12 cruises before we did DCL and we found it very average. Other than the ship being gorgeous, there was not much else to "rave" about. It was just OK. We've been on cruises that were absolutely fantastic. Don't disregard the cruise vacation. It can be wonderful. Now that you've been on a cruise, you will know what to look for next time in a Ship/Cruise Line.

mrsfuzzmo

 

[debtman7]

These are some of the things I'm concerned about as well

My daughter is probably going to love the kids club. She has ADD, but more of the inattentive type, and she loves activites/crafts/clubs. She'll probably be in the kids club a lot and love it.

My son will be turning 6 when we cruise, and he's the one I worry about. He's the hyperactive sort of ADD, not bouncing off the walls, but more active and has a hard time sitting through long activities. I think he'll be a little upset by not being able to be near his sister in the club, and if he has to sit and listen to a story for 45 minutes with no alternatives, I'm pretty sure we'll get a page. Now on the flip side, if they just let him play video games or run around and play with other kids, he'd probably love it there. We'll see.

My concern is that if he doesn't do well in the kids club, we'll have to find some other way to entertain him... From the sound of it, the pools will be so crowded I don't even want to try and take him swimming. I don't think we can watch more than one movie a day. He might like shuffleboard for a few minutes, but that's not going to take up hours of time or be a top notch activity. I'm pretty sure at the ripe age of 6 he won't be that into kitchen tours, wine tastings, spa treatments, lectures, musicians, etc. Other than the kids club activities (some of which I'm sure he'll like), there just doesn't seem to be anything geared towards kids on board (except the overcrowded pools).

 

[deedz]

We were also on the 1/22 Eastern and waited way over an hour for immigration in the Walt Theatre.

FirstTimeMom, I just had to comment that we also saw the inspector take a "coffee/donut" break while we were all just sitting there watching him, this after we had already been there about an hour.

We have done four easterns and only on one of them was the immigration process quick and painless. The other three we averaged an hour wait. Something should be done in terms of evaluating if and how this could be made more efficient and painless.

The tendering that morning was also an issue. We decided to wait and go later, and leave the kiddos in the clubs rather than subject them to tendering and shopping all in one morning

As a first time cruiser, I am wondering about getting on/off ship from the 4 day wonder... is Nassau ever been trouble? Or is it more the 7 day islands???

 

[Skuba2]

I really wouldn't stress about something like that too much. Kids are amazing at adapting and often surprise us. My daughter is ADHD and has done fine in the club in both the bottom age groups. I did warn them last time that she "leans" in that direction (she wasn't diagnosed then but I knew) but I didn't emphasize it with them and it was fine. Kids tend to follow the group to some extent---especially in new situations. In fact, most books on the subject will tell you that new and unique situations often bring out the best in ADD and ADHD kids. Let them come to you with observations. There is enough time for movement, running around and physical play that helps give them the output they need. Maybe just check in with them more often and pull them out during times of the day when you know are usually difficult for him.

When I go, I plan on not saying anything to them. Just a side comment that if she isn't listening to directions to page me but other that that---not a word from me.

DG

 

[KAR3600]

I give you all credit for really being honest, I always felt "funny" to write something bad about a cruise. I have cruised twice, althought I have enjoyed it for the most part, it seems that I always got the crummy servers, if you asked for something extra, which we did not do often ( for example... I love creme brulee' and so does my sister, so we asked for an extra -we had late seating by the way, we would get a response like "oh you want another one really, are you sure? ok it will be a couple of minutes, but ok well get it) They always acted "stand-offish", and at time like the were doing us a favor by serving us . I really could not understand the behaviour. Then TIPPING night would come and everyone was smiles, and would actually offer choices. I could understand if it happened once but this happened on both times we sailed.............
Maybe we just have bad server luck!
Cruising again July 24th hope my luck is better!!!!!

 

[allears]

We ourselves are big time, die hard over the top Disney fans and supports, escpecially the cruise line. We have done 5 crusies, one 4 day, three 7 with our three kids and 1 7 day, just my DW and I. Each and every experience has been incredible. We go with very high, though realistic expectations and have always had them either met or exceeded. In fact my kids, 17, 14 and 8 were just presented with a choice, to either go to Disney World for a week (with us) and their Aunt and her family, whom we're very close to, or take another cruise next February. Hands down they picked the cruise as if there was really no other choice.

That being said, I have to say that DVCajun's post, while not a rousing endorsement, wasn't a big Disney bash and stinks post. These boards are the most valuable when people post all of their experiences in either a factual or at least IMHO type way. The threads that tend to get really testy (and I've thrown my two cents in those pleanty of times) are the ones that blanketly trash Disney and blame them for everything from the sun not shining to not liking the color of the bed spreads.

It's important to get various perspectives, it helps all of us plan better and be aware of potential pit falls. No vacation experience is 100% perfect (though for our family the Disney Magic is about 99%) and very often being armed with information, good and bad can really make a difference. And it's also true this type of vacation is not for everyone or every family.

Thanks DVCajun, for your post and I too am sorry it wasn't all that you had hoped. There will continue to be many of us who didn't share these same experiences and found things to be excellent. And we can all learn from those whose experiences proved a little more challenging.

By the way, was Martin from India? If so he was our assistant on our 1/15 trip and we found him to be simply delightful.

 

[Gupsmom]

We've never experienced a problem with the kid's club. I'm not taking away from your negative experience. I just figured I'd post our experience for some balance.

We have taken 3 Disney cruises with our kids. For the first cruise, our kids were 3, 4 1/2 and almost 6. Last cruise they were 4, 6 and 7. Our oldest has focus/attention difficulties (falling short of the label and growing out of it with age). He can be a hand full at times. The club/lab staff has handled him wonderfully each time. I've never had a problem with the kids being forced to stay at a task. We've actually experienced just the opposite. They keep the kids hopping around at a good pace and have been very flexible with letting them do what they wanted to do.

Again...I'm not saying the OP is wrong. I'm only posting to ease the fears of some people that might take the OP's opinion and run.

Jess

 

[Ratt45]

I must echo the comments of others and say that I am sorry you had a rough experience. Normally, I would say to anyone about most things to give it another try. However, in this case, that may not apply since it cost you $5000. It is true that cruising isn't for everyone. I think that some of your problems could be attributed to unlucky timing. DW and I aren't much into most of the activities onboard, but we are never bored.

 

[Joan1]

I haven't been on a Disney cruise yet (going this summer on a 3 night)

I have cruised Royal Caribbean, Carnival, NCL and Holland America. Out of those I think that Royal Caribbean would probably be your best bet. I say to try another cruise line to compare and you may love it.

Royal Caribbean has a great kids program and a lot to do onboard (on their voyager class ships and their Radiance Class ships). They have rock climbing, miniature golf, ice skating (voyager class), inline skating area, and more. Plenty of food choices, Promonade area with parades (voyager class).

I have had friends go on the Disney cruise and even though they enjoyed it, they ended up eating at Palo's 4 out of 7 dinners as they didn't like the food in the dining room. They spend about 3 weeks a year in Disney World and have the same taste in food as we do. Because of this we aren't expecting much on the food end of it but want to try Disney Cruise to see how we like it.

 

[tchoney]

Our experience was slightly different. We only went to Nassau, Freeport and Castway Cay.

Anyway, I understand about the kids clubs. My boys did not go. We visited on the first day and my boys did not want to return. Outside of the kids clubs, there really aren't a lot of activities for children, families or adults. At least not activities that my family is interesed in. I let my boys run around the track and we would go inside to the fifth floor and they would run up and down the hallway playing. Of course they were running only where there were not rooms!

We really enjoyed DCL and have another one scheduled for this may/june. I really wish DCL would take into consideration that not all children fit into their kids clubs and they should create other activities for them around the ship....

Just my thoughts!

 

[LIFERBABE]

Thank you so much for posting your experiences. I would have been disappointed too. I would not like the chili filled tacos. Taco Bell doesnt even use chili!

We are very excited to go on our first cruise, but your post was very helpful, because it was so moderated in expressing your expecatations. I like reading all the good things but I also like reading the negatives for balance. If one person reads your post and cancels their cruise, then that decision would lack balance and you are in no way responsible for that!

 

[jeannief]

As a first time cruiser, I am wondering about getting on/off ship from the 4 day wonder... is Nassau ever been trouble? Or is it more the 7 day islands???

I don't think it's a problem in Nassau. We just came off the 2/6 Wonder and we walked off the ship at 10:00, no lines. The only issues we had with disembarking was with CC, since it was a different exit and we got turned around finding it, and the final day, since DH and kids (4 and 5) are not US Citizens and they waited for 45 minutes at 6:00 AM to clear immigration, at which time there was no line up. Next time (and would love to do it again) we would wait until 6:30 before going down. It was a nightmare for the boys, they just wanted to go back to sleep!
DVCajun and Jill, sorry that you did not have good experiences, and thanks for pointing out what went wrong where, it WILL help others. I'm going to post our experience in a separate thread.

 

[ChrisnSteph]

DVC - I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. Although I love sailing with Disney, it's also enlightening to see the positive and negative. After all, isn't that what this message board is for? Noone should get bashed for posting what their experience sailing with Disney because not everyone has the same experience. (Unless, of course, it's stupid complaints about things DCL has no control over, like a previous poster mentioned above). Personally, our first two cruises with DCL were awesome. Our most recent one was so-so. My complaints: the ship seems to be not in tip top shape. I know it was recently dry docked, but the wear and tear is definitely starting to show. Our stateroom floor looked dirty, and our dryer and t.v remote were broken (both replaced though). The food at Topsiders EVERY morning was horrible, and the pizza was almost inedible, my kids wouldn't even eat it. The bottom of the kids pool - particularly the ears - needs replacing. My son scraped his foot pretty bad while wading in it when a piece of flooring came off. The food, with the exception of Palo's, seemed ok this time around. Not bad, but sometimes it was on the lukewarm side. Sometimes we could never find clean towels, and a piece of our luggage somehow got sent to another stateroom. We'd like to see some different activities added and maybe the menu switched up a bit. My two year old was bored in Flounders because the babies were always napping so it everyone tried to be quiet, and the toys were more geared toward younger toddlers. Our KTTW cards never seemed to work properly and had to be replaced several times. Not DCL's fault, but our cabins were REALLY noisy (2622 - 2626). All in all, we didn't have a bad cruise, it just seemed different than what we expected. We did book a fourth cruise though, because our kids have a great time and we just love being on the ship. When our kids are much older we'd like to try different cruise lines, but for now DCL suits us. I'm sorry you had such a bad experience, especially when you spent so much for your cruise. Thanks for your post.

 

[cathie]

We'll be going on our 4th Disney Cruise in April & we have absolutely loved each cruise. Our kids are 10, 13 & 17 & they had a fantastic time & can't wait to go back! We also travel with a disabled friend who uses a large power wheelchair with ventilator attached. There have been challenges, but we were just happy to be there. I think traveling with babies & toddlers is a challenge in itself ( been there, done that) and maybe a cruise isn't such a great idea for that age group. Maybe a better idea would be to try a 3 Day cruise before deciding on a full week. That's what we did....3, 4 then 7 Day. We're doing another 4 Day in April. Don't give up on DCL..they're awesome!! Cathie & The Gang

 

[DVCajun]

Yes, Martin is from India. We learned that he's a newlywed, married only in December! I felt so sorry for him being apart from his new bride for the next six months. But he was certainly a sweetie ... I may have even had a small crush by the end of the cruise.

 

[MickeyAnne]

I've never cruised before, so when I booked my land and sea trip for May 2005, a spoke to a friend of mine (an experienced cruiser) for some cruising tips. The ONLY thing she told me was that you have to try even the activities that would not usually be your style...she explained that although some won't impress you, some will shock you thoroughly. If you are willing to try new things and come out of your normal box then you will have more choices in activities and you won't allow yourself to be bored/disappointed...

Maybe my friends advice to me will be a help for you if you decide to cruise again...go a little crazy, you never know!

 

[mickeyfan9194]

This was our first cruise as well, and had an absolutely FABULOUS time!!! Not knocking the OP, just a different perspective. However, our kids are DS10 and DS13, so I'm sure that made a big difference. The way ours were when they were little, I don't think I could have enjoyed a cruise either.

We arrived at the terminal much later than planned at 11:30. The check-in line was very long. But once we made it through there it was a breeze--we got the kids checked in at the kids clubs, got Palo reservations, signed up for the Wine Tasting and found our room all by 2:00.

Our DS10 was able to check himself in and out of the Oceaneers Lab by himself, and our pager never went off the entire week. He had a great time when he was there, but he only went for a few hours a day. Our DS13 never went to the Stack after the first day, but found plenty of other things to do.

We had early dinner seating, and our servers (Roberto & Baiyok) were the greatest! They bent over backwards for us all week!!! We all wanted to take them home with us so bad! And Palo...what more could be said about that? It was the best dining experience I've ever had, and the most I've ever eaten. Sasha was our server, and I can't recommend him highly enough.

St. Martin was fabulous--my DS10 & I did the Dolphin Encounter on Anguilla while DH & DS13 did the 12 meter Regatta--we thoroughly enjoyed them both. DH said the shopping (or rather, the vendors) were a little scary when they tried to "pull" you into the stores, but nothing he couldn't handle.

The St. Thomas immigration check took us only about 20 minutes total, but we were in the first group since we had a morning excursion planned. We ended up cancelled our snorkeling excursion to St. John when the location was changed (the new location didn't really have a beach, and I didn't know how the kids would like snorkling--first time for both), so we got a refund and went shopping and sight-seeing instead. Took a taxi (that was a thrill ride in itself) to the Paradise Point Tram--absoultely beautiful scenery! Shopping was good, and much more "controlled" since it was a U.S. territory.

We loved the evening shows--even the kids did, which kind of surprised me, but they wanted to come with us every night. My DS13 about died laughing at the comedian on the last night.

But one of the best parts of the entire cruise was all of the wonderful people we met along the way, especially at breakfast, lunch and the late night buffets. We learned so much, and had a great time with you all. A HUGE thank you to fellow DIS'ers Stacy, Ken and Tracy for sharing your Palo dinner with us on Monday night--you guys are the best!

Obviously disappointed that we didn't get to Castaway Cay, but we had such a great time anyway, that we rebooked for October 2006 (with TWO stops at Castaway Cay). I don't know how I'll be able to wait until then!!!

 

[chrisn]

The kids club didn't exactly thrill me either. IMHO, I thought they were sub par compared to RCCL's Voyager. My son was 4 at the time and he never took to Disney's Club. That same child one week later, we couldn't drag out of RCCL's. He lived there. It was very enlightening to me and I never would have believed it had I not experienced it for myself. Everything else about our cruise on the Magic we absolutely LOVED. We are cruising again in 2 weeks and my son is now 7 and will be using the clubs but I am not expecting anything spectacular with them.

Everybody has different tastes and I in no way mean this to be judgmental or sarcastic but really some people are easier to please and some people are harder to please. I do think a couple disappointments could have been avoided with better planning (Palos and Flounders). Sometimes it seems that if you start something off with the wrong foot in the wrong boat, it's hard to recover that right attitude too. It seems like bad vibes followed you and you couldnt shake them. The first year we went to WDW, 3 days into a 10 day vacation, my home was broken into. We took a 25,000 loss with jewelry, guns and power tools. My husband flew home and I stayed with the kids. I wanted to crawl under a rock. My wedding ring was taken and I was devastated. I smiled through sad tears the whole week. The following year we went back again and had the time of our lives. Again, I'm sorry it didn't work out but speaking from someone who did give it another go, you may want to try another line someday. If you do, I recommend one of RCCL's Eagle Class.

 

[lbgraves]

mickeyfan9194 , I have to agree with you that Baiyok is one of the best assistant servers on the ship! We had her & Rudy take care of us in 11/03 & were able to have Rudy again in 12/04 but she was with another server. We saw her outside of Lumiere's one day at lunch & she remembered our names! She even helped me with the kids when we were in Topsiders a couple mornings when she was there. She is very sweet.