One and Done?

[mevelandry]

We are headed on our FIRST ever Disney Cruise next week and I am just curious...are there many people out there that do one Disney Cruise and then no more? Everyone tells us we will be hooked, but we normally do WDW and I look forward to those trips every day until we are back there again. I am most excited to see how this trip compares in my head and heart!

So, if you were "one and done" - why?

Not one and done but "done for a while" after three.

The main reason is that we tend to be extremely active during cruises and we find that DCL doesn't offer enough variety when it comes to "adult entertainment". I love Disney characters but my husband doesn't and I even though some of the shows were too "kid oriented" for my taste at times.

Also, it's very easy to get a good itinerary on other cruise lines for a fraction of the price that DCL is asking for... for a 3 or 4 nights cruise to the Bahamas. Example: we booked on a RCCL 6 nights western caribbean in January 2020 for about 350$ USD/pp ! (A 5 nights to Cozumel with DCL is more than 1000$ USD/pp)

At this point, my husband doesn't want to go back... But I would like it, in a few years, when the new ships will be sailing, as I had a pleasant experience with DCL.

 

[ambula603]

We had a great week on the Fantasy so I wanted to come back and update.

For us, I think...we are one and done. We had an absolutely splendid time and were well taken care of! But for me, the magic just wasn't there like it is at the parks. And for double the price I don't think I can justify it again. However...never say never!

 

[Intr3pid]

But for me, the magic just wasn't there like it is at the parks.

Quite the opposite for us. Parks are becoming too crowded and more-of-the same for our family; the cruise ship is where the magic still is.

 

[bakerworld]

We were kinda one-and-done for a while. Our first cruise, ever, was a promotional received for purchasing BLT. We were so out of our element it wasn't at all amusing. We walked off confused - we like it .... The customer service was wonderful, we found being on the water relaxing and Castaway Key was cool. We couldn't figure out the food thing - we're not dinner people so we thought maybe cruising wasn't right for us.

About 3 years later, after reading forums and TR's, we became convinced to try again. We really enjoyed it. We booked the NE/Canada cruise. Before the NE/Canada cruise, I found a 4D cruise on the Dream which seemed very inexpensive compared to the cruise we'd enjoyed and the coming NE/Canada cruise so we tried that and enjoyed ourselves even more. While on the NE/Canada cruise we did a placeholder which we used on the Castaway Kay 2-stop this past June. We did another placeholder on the 2-stop which we using next November.

So, you get the picture ....

 

[brentm77]

We had a great week on the Fantasy so I wanted to come back and update.

For us, I think...we are one and done. We had an absolutely splendid time and were well taken care of! But for me, the magic just wasn't there like it is at the parks. And for double the price I don't think I can justify it again. However...never say never!

Thanks for the update. I was curious what you would think after the many responses here.

For us, there really is something magic about DCL. I feel a great sense of happiness just being on the ship. Walking through Cabanas for breakfast, sitting on deck four and watching the ocean, sitting with my wife in the adult-area late at night when nobody is around, gathering the family for a show in the evening, enjoying the many courses at dinner, etc. It just works for us. There is no thought/argument on where to eat, no extensive planning on what to do, no pressure to be anywhere, no traffic. The two we have taken so far are some of the happiest and most enjoyable vacations we have taken. We have two more and I can't wait.

The parks are fine, but they are work for me these days. I still enjoy them, but not nearly as much as DCL and I don't come back relaxed.

But, I get that everyone has different tastes and energy levels (I am rather low energy myself), and I am glad there as so many different options.

 

[ambula603]

The parks are fine, but they are work for me these days. I still enjoy them, but not nearly as much as DCL and I don't come back relaxed.

I DID mention this to my husband on the way back, coming home after DCL was much different than WDW in that I was super relaxed after our vacation and not plumb exhausted like I am after the parks!!

We did WDW every year as a family growing up, hence the warm fuzzies for me. I wonder if my own daughters will love DCL because of the nostalgia of our trip last week and I can only hope they will invite us if they take their own families some day!

 

[Shelby Schroepfer]

We are headed on our FIRST ever Disney Cruise next week and I am just curious...are there many people out there that do one Disney Cruise and then no more? Everyone tells us we will be hooked, but we normally do WDW and I look forward to those trips every day until we are back there again. I am most excited to see how this trip compares in my head and heart!

So, if you were "one and done" - why?

I am in this boat with ya!!! We have done WDW 4 years in a row and just came back from our 2019 trip last month. I cry like twice a week over waiting to be back there. We wanted to "skip" 2020 just because so much was being built and 2021 is a big celebration year so we went with a cruise because I felt so sad to not do any Disney trip at all. We just bare minimum, 4 night cruise December of 2020 and I had to pick a cruise out of Miami just because being in Port Canaveral, that close to WDW, and not going, was making me sick. I know that is dramatic and embarrassing but I'm 100% serious! I am excited and super anxious about the cruise. I know WDW will still be our top choice, and I am already worried about when we will get there in 2021, but I am excited to see a different side of Disney if that makes sense? WDW is go go go and we LOVE that fast paced vacation but I am kind of looking forward to doing Disney in slow motion. Taking it easy and not rushing from FP to FP. I'm with you!