Miss the parks if we do a Disney Cruise?

[Connor&Cody'sMom]

I am trying to decide if I want to take my family on a Disney cruise where you spend part of the week on the ship and part of the week at Disney. On our two previous trips, we spent 7 days at the Disney parks and loved it. I'm afraid we would feel we were "missing out" on Disney the days we were on the ship! I do think my family would love to see the beach they visit during the cruise. I just don't know what to do! Has anyone else felt this way, and have you taken the cruise?

 

[TammiMcMan]

Our first cruise was May 2004. Usually we plan a Disney parks trip every 2 years, but DH insisted that he wanted something a bit more relaxing this time around. We compromised and decided to take a 3 night cruise followed by a couple of days at the park. I'll admit that I wasn't happy to be missing out on our usual Disney World vacation and really pushed for those few extra days. I was wrong though. We had the best time on the cruise and I wished that we had opted for at least a 4 night cruise and no parks. The cruise is Disney, just without the rides. We met characters and played games, enjoyed lots of family time and really reconnected with each other. We loved it so much, that DH and I took another Disney cruise with just the two of us. We're now planning for a trip next summer and my kids are having a tough time choosing between a longer Disney cruise or doing the parks.

If this is your first experience and you want to do both, I'd suggest 3 nights at the park followed by a 4 night cruise. You can book it that way on the Disney cruise website or with your travel agent. It's called a land/sea package.

 

[afcgirl]

It is funny you should ask this, because this is exactly what happened to us on our first family trip to Disney.

We booked a land and sea package where we stayed at WL for 4 days and then did the 3-Day Wonder cruise.

We had such a great time at WL and the parks that we were almost sad about getting on the ship. We felt like we could have stayed at WL and the parks for another two weeks and not been bored! There was also such an excitement about the parks that it was a little difficult going to the more subdued environment of the ship.

I thought that by doing the cruise last, we would get much-needed relaxation after the craziness of the parks. But we really weren't ready to rest yet, we were having too much fun. If I ever did the Disney cruise again, I would do it first so that I had the parks to look forward to at the end.

We have taken a separate week-long cruise since then on a Carnival ship (we didn't leave out of Orlando, so the parks weren't an issue). Carnival has a lot more for adults to do and it is less expensive than Disney. They also have Camp Carnival for the kids and my kids had just as good a time as on Disney. Royal Caribbean is also supposed to be great for families.

 

[lovethattink]

I am trying to decide if I want to take my family on a Disney cruise where you spend part of the week on the ship and part of the week at Disney. On our two previous trips, we spent 7 days at the Disney parks and loved it. I'm afraid we would feel we were "missing out" on Disney the days we were on the ship! I do think my family would love to see the beach they visit during the cruise. I just don't know what to do! Has anyone else felt this way, and have you taken the cruise?

We've done the Disney cruise every year. (This is the 1st year we aren't going.) Handsdown, it is so much better than the parks! From the moment you enter the ship, you are personally greeted and welcomed. Get there by noon and you can have a fantastic lunch, a shrimp lovers dream! The pampering on the ship is incredible. The shows are awesome! The kids activities are so much fun for the kids, you might not even see them all day. We had to set limits on how much time our ds was allowed to spend there. We forced him to eat dinner with us. Sometimes, he went with the kids for dinner at the buffet, than sat through dinner with us. He was glad he did, since there are shows and effects through some of the dinners. By 9pm, he was back to the kid's stuff until midnight. The only drawback to the cruise is sea sickness. Both dh and ds get sea sick each time. DH misses out on evening stuff because he is too tired from taking dramamine.

 

[Soccermom1969]

We just did the cruise one year and, while it was fantastic, we missed the parks. You feel somewhat out of the Disney loop if you just go on the ship.

 

[disneydreamer98]

We did the 7 day land/sea combo and although I wouldn't recommend this every trip (since there is so much to see and do at the parks) we enjoyed it. We did the land portion first where we ran ourselves ragged and crazy to get everything in and then we finished up with the sea portion where we relaxed and rested. Finishing up a vacation at Cataway Cay was absolutely amazing! We for the first time returned home from Disney without feeling like we needed another vacation to recooperate from our vacation!

 

[PixiePop]

We just did our first land/sea package this year(4 day land/ 3 day sea) and we had your concerns too. We always do the parks 7 days and were worried about it, plus we had never been on a cruise and wasn't sure if we would like it. We went down a few days earlier and stayed at a moderate resort to that we could have the seven days at the parks. It worked out great. Also, we absolutely LOVED the cruise.....in fact we plan on going on a 7 day next year.

 

[HarryLeg]

My son went with his grandma on the 4-night cruise and loved it. I asked my son which he liked best, Cruise or WDW, and he said both. My wife and I want to do the cruise, but don't want to miss our week at WDW so we re-arranged our vacation plans (downgraded resort, but love it just the same, and less PS, great food on ship) to do 7-night cruise and 8 nights at POFQ.

 

[VA_mouseman]

Parks vs the Ships ...

Both are definitely Disney, but each has its own draw. We recently did a 7 day cruise and for us (two small boys), we had a great time. There is a level of intimacy on the ship that you won't experience at the parks. There is ample amount of character time with short lines - except for the Princesses. For us, it allowed us to have more time together than we would at the parks. The ship is small enough to not wear yourself out walking all day (like the parks). Both have their pros and cons. I like the comments made by the land/sea combo trip veterans.

 

[Bete]

If you are planning a second trip in the same year to Disney then I don't think it matters which way you go on the first trip.

I'm assuming you don't work your job on weekends. Anyway, if you count two weekends you actually have 9 days without using anymore vacation time. This doesn't even count Friday night. If you plan the vacation, you can have all your luggage done ahead of time, etc. Based on this, you can have more time at the parks, if your budget will allow it. You can do this at the front end of your trip or the back end depending on your dates. Now, you may have to work out some transportation issues, but it's doable. Another consideration is you will probably feel a little tired going back to work without some extra time to adjust back home.

If your budget doesn't allow it, then you have to decide what's more fun for you and your family. Cruising is very different from doing the parks. It's a different pace, too. If you have done the parks many times over then I think the cruise experience will be more enjoyable combined with some time at the parks. If you really plan hard and wise, you can probably get more out of the parks then a usual stay there; so, you can make up some time by just having a better plan for the parks.

The activities on a cruise are very different from being on land at the parks. You need to check it out very thoroughly and see if the cruise activities sound appealing to you or not. If you like thrill rides to the nth degree then I'm not sure you will like a cruise, as much as, the parks.

Although cruising is special with the Disney theming, etc. you can get a much more affordable cruise trip going with another cruise company. If finances are not an issue then this won't matter. I don't need to be on a Disney cruise line to have a fun cruise trip. I'd rather take two trips and not mix the two together. You can take a Disney cruise by itself, too. I think it can be more tiring trying to combine both for the same trip.

Any vacation is fun; so, just decide what you may like more and do it. Enjoy!

 

[GlennI]

We have been both to Disney on separate occassions, and have taken the Disney Cruise and WDW land sea package. I would recommend that if you do the land/sea package, that you go to WDW first, that way when you get to the ship you can relax.

We added extra days at WDW prior to our cruise and it was great, I don't think you would be sorry for doing this package. We are big cruise fans, and we loved doing both the same week.

You will really enjoy Castaway Cay, but I would urge you if you want a good relaxation spot on the beach... GET OFF THE SHIP EARLY.>!!!!! it will get crowded when the ship empties out around mid day..

 

[vfb2girls]

I am so excited to hear from others on how much fun they had on thier cruises. I have booked a 4 day Wonder cruise for 2/2007 and plan on adding the parks to our trip.From what I have been told it is somewhat better to book this package seperate since then we can choose which resort we want to stay at. I am planning on doing 5 days at the parks and then relaxing the next 4 days on the cruise. It will be just myself and husband so we are both pretty excited about it. This will be our first cruise and since we were looking at cruising to Alaska in 2008 I thought what better way to find out what cruising is all about but by going on a disney cruise. So henestly I think by doing both the land/sea trip you get the best of both worlds.

 

[zachnlucy]

I'm a cruise addict, though have never cruised with Disney, due to price. In the last two years, DH and I have cruised 5 times, 7 day cruises except for the first time. Twice on Carnival and once on Royal Caribbean to the Caribbean, and on Norwegian and Princess to Alaska. Cruises are fantastic! We're going to WDW this coming April because the kids have threatened to divorce us if we don't!

 

[GlennI]

We booked our cruise and land deal at the same time, we were asked which resort we wanted to stay at, of course your choice reflects your price. So don't be afraid to book them as one package, just be prepared for a price difference if you pick a Deluxe resort over a Value resort.

We have cruised many times, and we don't think you will regret taking a cruise. If you have any specific questions, feel free to let me know, will answer all I can.

 

[Fire14]

I booked my own land/sea WDW vacation. I didn't like that based on what cabin type dh and i wanted on boat decided what type hotel we stayed in at wdw.

So I booked both as seperate vacations. I didn't have one kttw card I had 2 but I actually saved money since i'm an AP holder and used AP rate on value hotel room while on land and spoiled myself on cruise.

 

[Hanover]

We went on our first Disney Cruise last February. We were at the parks a full week and then did a 4 day Wonder trip. I thought I'd never want to go back to the parks again and instead spend every penny saving for another cruise. We (me,dh, ds4, and ds7) had an absolute blast on our cruise and felt very relaxed and pampered. We booked a 7 day Eastern cruise this May, but we are squeezing in 2 days before and 1 or 2 days after at the parks. We felt since we'll be in Florida anyways, we may as well go to the parks. Plus it will not be as depressing as getting of the ship and flying out that afternoon. I was so jealous of all the families heading to the parks that day! We are also going to the parks next week for 5 days because we just can't seem to say no to the promotions they keep running. We went for free dining in August 2005 because we couldn't pass up that offer.

 

[PrincessAngelika]

DH and I went on the cruise for our honeymoon on 2003..we had originally planned on going to WDW but at the last minute changed our minds..I also went in 2002 with my family, and we just couldn't get enough of it.. my mom, sister and I all cried when we got off the ship (cause we're nerds like that... ) we then drove from port canaveral to WDW and spent two rather exhausting days at the parks...while we loved it, don't get me wrong, we all agreed that we should have done the parks first, then the ship. besides, our first day at the park, I ordered a dole whip and walked away without paying, bc you don't have to pay on the cruise!! So be careful for that...

My dh and I are both aching to do ANYTHING disney, so we're opting to go to the parks this year for our anniversary, although it took some arm twisting..he wanted to go on the cruise again. but i need to go see my castle.

IMHO, whichever you pick, you and your family will have an absolute blast.