Pump me up will ya?

[Franco56]

Just like alot of you, I am on the "Dis" daily and I dislike hearing
negative things about peoples cruises. I have been planning our December 24-31
2005 "Christmas Cruise" since May '04 and everything is paid for, praise the lord!
We have been to WDW six times now and we love it, but we are not fananics
about it. Don't get me wrong, they have been our best family trips.
Now, with our first cruise coming, I don't look for bad things, but it seems they
find me. You know just kind of scrolling down the subjects people are talking
about. I need some pumping up with still seven months to go. People's taste
vary wildly I know, but will someone tell me they like the food and kids activities? I have all the books and spend alot of time on Disney sites, just let
me know everything will be alright! Thank You Kindly
P.S. Me (55) DW (44) DS (14) DS (11)

 

[jdmom]

Your cruise will be as good as you let it be!

We have been on 2 Disney Cruises and we have had a wonderful time both times. Was everything perfect? No. But pretty close.

The food is good, it is not the best of all of the cruise lines but it is better than average. You don't book a Disney Cruise if you cruise just for the food.

The rooms are great, the Kids Clubs are great, the service is great. The spa is REALLY great.

Not perfect, but both times I went I saw one or two people getting extremely upset about ridiculous things, and letting it ruin their day. No matter what happens, just think positive! We never had anything but very minor problems, things like late room service. But who cares? It's vacation!

You made a good choice, we hope to do it again, one day!

 

[cristit14]

You will have a great time on your cruise!
As far as the kids activities go, my kids were a little younger than yours. My DD was 8 at the time and loved going to clubs at night, but didn't really go in the daytime. DS didn't really care if he went to the clubs at all, but would go for a couple of hours so DH and I could do some stuff on our own. The best thing to do would be go to the cruise meet thread for your cruise if you haven't already and see if there are other kids the same ages as yours. My DD had a friend onboard before we even got there since she had been emailing another little girl. They still email each other now.

As far as the food goes, I think it is all a matter of personal taste. I don't think I had anything I didn't like. There were some things that were really good and some things that were just okay, but nothing really bad. We didn't go to PALO the first time since it was only a 4 day, but we are planning on going on our next cruise. I can't wait! We got totally hooked on our 4 day and now our friends and family think we are crazy.

 

[Laurajean1014]

We've been on two DCL 7 day Magic Cruises and had a blast.

So will you.

 

[flexsmom]

We've been on a Wonder 4-night with a 3-year old, and a Magic 7-night with a 5-year old and a 1 1/2 year old, and had a great time on both. The kid's enjoyed Oceaneer's Club and Flounders, and our entire party had no complaints about food - some meals were "fabulous", others just hit the spot, and I'd say only the pizza elicited an "OK". We enjoyed the shows, hanging out alone in the lounges, and watching the kids have a blast at the pool - and having our own blast in the jacuzzi's when the deck was quiet at 10pm! You'll get a little bit of everything, if you want it. Enjoy!

 

[CAMICKEY]

If you do not have a wonderful time, it will only be because you make it so. As the date gets closer, you wiill get more and more excited. I've been on both the 3 night cruise and the 7 night cruise and will remember them for a lifetime. - Mik

 

[mommasita]

I agree with the previous poster...You make the most of your vacation..Having said that, I can not imagine NOT having the time of your life.. My kids rant and rave about it, and we have been on the 7 nighters, and just wish we could do more..

Every minute of our vacation if perfect...

 

[mamalle]

its what you make of it is my motto. go and enjoy every minute of it because it goes by way too fast!

 

[staceymerrill]

we were on the recent 5/7 Western, which the CMs were calling the "tune up" for the 2 week repo cruise....the menus were all new from the previous cruises we've taken.....JUST OUTSTANDING....fresh seafood and meat dishes available every night, with extra emphasis on expert preparation and presentation....To quote Emeril... "they really kicked it up a notch"...

IMO, there used to be a giant chasm in quality between the food served at the regular rotation restaurants and Palo (with Palo being vastly superior)...Not anymore.....In fact, on my upcoming 3 day alone with DS, I am foregoing Palo (not that you should)....I just know I wont miss it "as much" knowing that the quality is sooo much better now in the rotation restaurants....

 

[KKB]

First of all, you have met all us wonderful people online--that ALONE is worth the price of the cruise
Second--you are on vacation!!! Specifically, A CRUISE!
Dan & I are verified cruise addicts after only one cruise. It is so surreal--a true getaway, with no phones, newspapers or real TV (this from a news junkie) Dan was skeptical for our first cruise, but as soon as we began to tour the ship, he proclaimed it "awesome!" and "It's like Vegas on a ship!" (we were married in Vegas) We do love to travel; while there are places we have no desire to return to, we have ALWAYS had a great time! (just like Vegas--no longer want to stay at the Sahara or Excalibur, more like the Mirage or Ballys now...but we have ALWAYS had a great time!)
I was skeptical about Disney, after such a phenomenal experience on Princess, and not a huge Disney person. BUT after reading these boards (and others), I am thrilled! Thrilled to be going on another cruise (especially that someone else is paying for!), thrilled that if I'm gonna cruise w/ my kids that they have the BEST kid's program available--and they are the type of kids that want to be the last one picked up from any program!
Franco, I agree w/ the above posts--a vacation is what you make of it! Do I expect perfection--NO! Do I expect to have a ball--YES! Hey, I drove 24 hours each way to the Jersey shore last summer w/ 3 kids--and had a ball! (and I wasn't so sure how that was going to go!) I would do it again--now!
Don't worry, if you aren't having a ball, come hang w/ me for awhile--and a few others going on the cruise! This sounds like a FUN bunch of people!
LESS THAN 200 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
See you there!
Kristin

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

FANTASTIC!!!!!!
That is how we have described all 6 of our disney cruises.
My husband wasn't too keen on the idea at first. So we did a 4 day cruise with one of our sons. By the end of the second day my DH was planning how we could afford the next one, a 7 day and how we could afford to bring all our kids and grandkids too.
The biggest thing is don't be afraid to try new things. We have done all kinds of things we never thought we would like, but we loved it. Some things of course are better than others, but all were worth trying. You meet such great people. Just walk up and say Howdy to people and you will meet some great folks. Look for your cruise date on the dis board and get aquainted with people before you go. This is especially great for the kids. Last cruise we all met the first day in the promenade lounge at 3:30 so we had faces to go with the names. after that we would run into each other on board and share our experiences with each other. That was great.
We will be cruising again this december, but we are from the 17th to the 24th so we will not be meeting you, however I'm sure you'll have a fantastic time!!! And yes, we are taking all 4 kids, their spouses, and 4 grandkids.
We also have 7 day back to back cruises for nov and dec 2006. We were hooked on the first cruise and I'm sure you will be too. I would tell you details, but i don't want to ruin any surprizes that may come your way.
mom x4,grandma x4

 

[S'sMom]

Go for it and have a great time. Remember that each experience is indivdual just like you.

SO no worries!!

 

[kcashner]

We have been on 12 cruises on the Magic, and number 13 is coming (not soon enough for me!). That alone should tell you what we think of the cruise.

My 14 year old LOVES The Stack. She has been in all 3 kid programs (Club, Lab, and Stack). She chose to turn 13 on the ship. Personally, we like the ship better than the parks, although we do both. In fact, when we were in the parks in June, DD commented on how she likes the ship better.

You can't do it all in one cruise, so don't kill yourself trying. Do your homework (but don't go crazy over it.) Then, have the kids look at their Navigators at the beginning of the cruise and choose one activity each day that they want to attend. Beyond that, allow them to spend as much time as they'd like in the programming. Requiring that they go to one activity each day will give you some time to yourself!

Then, each evening, look at your Navigator and make a rough plan for your next day. Remember that you can get the full schedule for movies on the first day (it will be repeated in each night's Navigator for the next day).

Don't be so determined to do it all that you forget to relax. With a teen, we meet for dinner each night. Generally, we do the evening show as a family, but I don't require that. THe teens have late night activities in The Stack. We don't try to do lunch or breakfast together. She sleeps thru breakfast. Lunch is together if convenient, otherwise we do it on our own. We will sometimes decide on a "family" activity during the day, but I don't push it. I figure that we can enjoy our time together as well as separately and everyone has a good vacation.

The trip will be as good as you choose to make it--it's more in your attitude than in the reality of the events!

 

[lbgraves]

I do like to hear other's experiences because it helps me know what could happen. Our cruises have been wonderful because we made them that way. We just got back from WDW and while some things that happened to us could have ruined our vacation if just one of them hit us...23 hours on the train instead of 14, our digital camera vanished on the train, it rained the day we were in MK, screaming kids in the rooms surrounding us at the resort, other issues at the resort that were not up to par...we all had a fantastic time. Things aren't going to be perfect but your vacation is what you make of it. I already have our first scrapbook page planned. Instead of all the pictures we took of our first time on Amtrak pictures and our train coming into the station I will write a little story about our experience and mount a picture that DS drew of us looking out the windows of the train.

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

IBGRAVES,
I love your attitude!
We have had similar experiences in years gone by, but still had a great vacation.
mom x4,grandma x4

 

[nskjerven]

Hey Franco I'm glad to find you over here. I understand what you might be thinking. As a fellow first timers I'm worried about if it will live up to the expectations that I have for the trip in my mind, but after reading a few of the posts before me I realized that you have to keep your mind set in the right place. Of course things and (& probably) will go wrong but if you keep a positive outlook then it will be fine.

I hope our families can share some magical memories together on our first cruise.

Come back and visit with us on our thread, we're done with the girl talk for now

Nan

 

[castlegazer]

You all put so much more emphasis on the actual sea days and making sure DCL entertains you than I do. I love my floating resort that takes me to my favorite places in the whole world (outside of Paris). I get a five diamond resort at which I don't have to unpack and pack over and over on to take me to the best that the Caribbean has to offer. Along the way I get spectacular shows, the likes of which I can't see unless I schlepp myself down to Broadway, I get luscious and delicious food whenever and wherever I want it (whether or not my hips should have it), I get to sit in the sun, think not of work, bills, lawn mowing, that damn leaky pipe I should fix, and simply watch my children light up with joy and delight at every turn, I get to sit up in the morning and gaze out on the blue ocean while the steward sets up my breakfast for me (which I didn't have to cook at the crack of dawn), I get to go out at night with my husband and not worry about the babysitter or rushing to get back, knowing they are having the time of their lives as are we, I get to relax and not worry about which park to do, which Fast Pass to get, will we make it to every ride we want to, and to just go with the flow because everything has been taken care of prior to my arrival on board.

And best of all, I get to have a vacation experience that my husband and I will cherish forever because of the time we got share and when we gaze into each other's eyes we remember our honeymoon cruise and we share that same love of cruising with our children.

 

[jgalecpa]

Franco,

First, Thank you for your service to our Country.

Next, You are on the Same cruise as us. It is our second xmas cruise.

You will love it!

The food is terrific. Especially if you are a steak/redmeat lover. I am a huge seafood fan, but the red meat was so tasty I only had it on lobster night.

PS Do you fish?

Jim

 

[Franco56]

You fine folks have done a heck of a job in pumping me up!!
Understanding that it is what you make it is sound advise, and I have always
had it it just was a slump. Real life always gets in the way doesn't it? Alot of
real things going on and still a ways to go before we castoff. But we are ready
and I thank you all kindly!!

 

[UGAFan0829]

I have to put my say in here as well, if that's okay.
I think that you will have a wonderful time on your cruise. The DH and I went on our very first cruise ever back in January and can't wait to do another one. He's never been to any of the Disney parks, while I've only been to a couple. Neither one of us are die-hard Disney people, but I do love Pooh bear. The DH is just neutral. Everything on the ship is so wonderful. I really do think that you will have a wonderful time.
Sure you read about people having bad experiences, and sometimes that scares me too, but I continue to tell myself that it's all in what you make it.