Please convince DH about the magic of a cruise!

[PRINCESS VIJA]

We are thinking of doing a cruise. It probably won't be for a while, but I would like to start saving now. I imagine that it is hard to put into words what makes a Disney cruise so special, but please try. I imagine that it is just like visiting WDW, until you do it, you "just don't understand". We had a magical time at WDW, and I want more! So here are some of the things I would like to present to DH...

1) what makes it special?
2) On the ship, what is there for adults to do? (for ex, Royal Carribean's big ships seem to have alot of onboard activities that are full of action, is there stuff like that on DCL?)
3) How safe is it for kids (worried about falling off! Especially if we get a verandah)
4) Everyone says how relaxing it is, but does it ever get to be too relaxing (i.e. boring?)
5) Do you get to interact with the characters? We did quite a few character meals for this reason, but is it possible to get pics with Mickey Mouse, and if so, do you have to wait a long time in line?
6) What are your favorite memories, or extra special things that happened?


Thanks for helping out!

 

[BeanoC]

It's hard to know where to start! So let me address your questions individually. We have been on the Magic 7-day, and we go again in 3 months. Myself, DW, DS12, DD10.

1). What makes it special, as opposed to other cruises, is DISNEY!
Like being in DisneyWorld, it's all Disney all the time (if you want it to be).

2). For adults, there is Palo's, which is an adult-only restaurant. Very romantic setting for dinner and/or brunch, with no kids allowed! There is also the "Beat Street" area, which has the adult oriented shows, a quiet piano bar where adults can sit quietly and have a drink, and other adult geared late-night activities.

3). It is entirely safe. Most everything is enclosed in plexiglass, and the openings are far too narrow for even a child to fit through.
Our kids were allowed on our verandah without supervision and I was never concerned. Up on the pool deck, the railings are too high to even climb over, much less fall over.

4). Boring? Never. The toughest decisions we had to make was, what do we skip? There are always movies, kids activities, trivia games, etc. etc. If you want relaxing, you can always go up on deck or to your verandah and read a book. If you get bored, it's your fault, believe me!

5). There are opportunities to take pictures with various characters. The place and time is always listed in your daily Navigator (the daily on board newspaper). Yes, it seemed the lines were rather long most of the time.

6). Favorite memories? This would take too long to answer!
The kids on the slides, not wanting to get off. The look on my son's face when he realized that extra desserts were free!
Snorkeling with my son on Castaway Cay and Trunk Bay, St. John.
The 'DIS' gathering with all our friends from here. Our waiter sending a lobster dinner to my stateroom after I had told him we couldn't make dinner that night.The outstanding service and great food. The friendly crew.

I could go on and on!

Hope this is what you were looking for !!!




'Beano'

 

[wovenwonder]

We don't have any cruise planned for 2003 - and are planning RCCL for 2004 --- and I am rather certain that this time next year we will book for DCL in early 2005! Believe me -- it is worth the wait!

Here are two websites with tons of info on DCL. Take lots of time and read all of the info. For activities pay special attention to the daily navigators (activity schedules).
www.dcltribute.com
www.castawayclub.com

And -- if THIS does not convince 'hubby' then you might be out of luck

http://www.fortunecity.com/campus/brigham/612/surialreport.htm
and another entertaining review of the surial:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/cruise-new/cr-dave-surial.htm

 

[randytenn]

I was a "who cares about a cruise" person before my first Disney cruise. As a child, my dad worked for the Bureau of Prisons, and I lived on an island for two years, and rode a boat each day. "I don't like boats" I would say. But as a compromise, I did the land / sea cruise with my wife.

Well, as you can see below, we are less than two months away from our next cruise, our first 7 day cruise. I loved it! Going on a cruise is as much about being on a boat as flying to Hawaii is about being on a plane. It's a big resort hotel, which just happens to travel to places. Much betterh than you having to travel and return each night to your hotel.

My favorite memory of our first cruise? Believe it or not, it was falling asleep by the pool one afternoon. I never nap, and didn't think I would ever do this. But, I had caught a cold on the land portion of our journey (darned air conditioner at Caribbean Beach Resort!), and was very worn out. We went to the pool, and I swam a while. Then I got out, and sat down in the chair next to my wife. Next thing I know, it's an hour later, and I am completely relaxed, warm, and, for the first time, not sniffling. I loved it!

Tell your husband that with Disney Cruise Lines, you can have as much "Disney" as you want, or don't want. But you will definately not be bored!

 

[prymsu]

My husband didn't think that taking a cruise would be anything he would really enjoy. After the first time, he was hooked, and now he can't get enough of cruising...

 

[DANDD]

We went on the 7 day Magic in April and my 3 1/2 year old is still talking about the "Mickey Ship".... My husband was a little worried about too much "Disney" - never a problem for me.... Actually, my dh really enjoyed the cruise and we will definitely take another Disney cruise in the next year or so....

The Magic is truly a beautiful ship. We really enjoyed the activities - however, the favorite activity for my ds was to walk on the promenade on Deck 4.... He also really enjoyed the Mickey pool and the ice cream! We had a verandah and felt very secure about the safety measures on the ship for toddlers. We never let him on the verandah alone - one of us was always there with him. Their is a lock at the top of the door that he could not reach and could only be opened by an adult. The shows were magical for all of us - especially Disney Dreams. We never were "bored" and spent a lot of family time together enjoying the beautiful surroundings. Some of our favorite memories are walking on the top deck after dinner and looking for the moon - and of course our long walks on the promenade. We had late seating and had very good accessibility to the characters between 6:00 - 7:30. That is when the early seating was still at dinner and we were able to get great pictures with a lot of different characters. The longest we ever waited in line was probably 10 minutes or so... not so bad.... We truly had a magical time together as a family and enjoyed the cruise very much!

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

Thanks everyone! That is exactly what I was looking for! I appreciate all of your input.

 

[rytayntigger2]

Princess….I am a 45 yr old sports nut always looking for an activity filled vacation (skiing, golf, etc) who felt that a cruise was something retirees did…the 9/21 eastern magic will be our second cruise in four years and I can’t wait…too many activities to choose from daily…or none at all…your choice…and check out the travel sites for great deals (50-60% off)….good luck