So I didn't expect to like DCL better than WDW

[frankiecakes]

Ok, so my husband and I are currently overnight driving back to Ohio from a 24 day vacation that spanned from a Caribbean halloween cruise to WDW.

First time on a cruise and I had no idea how much I would love it!!!! I was actually disappointed in WDW and that is hard to do for me. Traveling with DH and a 2, 4 and 6 year old. Brought my parents down for 1 week of WDW.

So i have been looking at cruises on this drive up and there is a 9-day from vancouver to hawaii in April 2020 that we are very interested in, but we cant take anymore days off in this school year. Do they do this trip at annually?

 

[bcwife76]

No unfortunately, they haven't done Hawaii cruises since 2015. The 2020 cruises sold out VERY quickly (though as you can see there are now some spots open up as the paid in full dates get closer). So at the moment 2020 is your only shot. Dates for the first part of 2021 (to mid May) have been released so far and none to Hawaii so maybe later in 2021? But no, you cannot count on Hawaii being an annual cruise.

 

[frankiecakes]

No unfortunately, they haven't done Hawaii cruises since 2015. The 2020 cruises sold out VERY quickly (though as you can see there are now some spots open up as the paid in full dates get closer). So at the moment 2020 is your only shot. Dates for the first part of 2021 (to mid May) have been released so far and none to Hawaii so maybe later in 2021? But no, you cannot count on Hawaii being an annual cruise.

Awwww
that is too bad! Fingers crossed for late 2021!!! We have already taken my son out of school for three weeks. I am glad they let me do that.

 

[lklgoodman]

Glad you enjoyed your first cruise. Hopefully they will add some more Hawaiian cruises in the future. We also live in Ohio, just north of Columbus. We leave for our 6th Disney cruise in 69 days. We love cruising in the winter, love getting away from the freezing dreary Ohio winter. I always think about going to WDW, but then I remember how exhausting it is, so for now we stick to cruising. DCL is great for parents, send the kids to the clubs and get some adult time, can't do that at the parks.

 

[frankiecakes]

Glad you enjoyed your first cruise. Hopefully they will add some more Hawaiian cruises in the future. We also live in Ohio, just north of Columbus. We leave for our 6th Disney cruise in 69 days. We love cruising in the winter, love getting away from the freezing dreary Ohio winter. I always think about going to WDW, but then I remember how exhausting it is, so for now we stick to cruising. DCL is great for parents, send the kids to the clubs and get some adult time, can't do that at the parks.

We live in Dublin! There was just so much more to love on the cruise in my most humble opinion. My love for travel probably helped that. There are a few events that are crowded, but for the most part it wasn't chaos like the parks. We were at WDW for a little more than two weeks and it was crazy. And we were a mess this year for some reason. The cruise seemed like a dream. I am looking forward to going back to work on Monday, lol.

 

[fredandkell]

Welcome to the community of “DCL kills WDW!”

 

[cvjw]

Yep. Same here. Used to visit Disney world for about 3 weeks per year. Then took our first cruise on the fantasy 2 years ago. Have no interest in going to Disney anymore, we are cruisers now

After being on a Disney cruise, you realize how crowded Disney world is. How much planning is involved. How expensive everything is. How long the waits for all attractions are. No thanks for us!

 

[Intr3pid]

Commiserations!

DCL is launching three new ships over the next 3 years and need to almost double the current number of cruisers. The priority at the moment is to bring in new cruisers. They aren't taking risks with new itineraries or ports or - for that matter - the price tag. Just do the other itineraries in the meantime. You will have a lot more choice - incl. Hawaii - once all 7 ships are sailing.

 

[frankiecakes]

Commiserations!

DCL is launching three new ships over the next 3 years and need to almost double the current number of cruisers. The priority at the moment is to bring in new cruisers. They aren't taking risks with new itineraries or ports or - for that matter - the price tag. Just do the other itineraries in the meantime. You will have a lot more choice - incl. Hawaii - once all 7 ships are sailing.

So I have been slightly researching this and it looks like dvc members have exclusive cruises that go to hawaii more often than not. Dont know too much about it. Anyone dvc have more in the know info?

 

[auntlynne]

I have not done a cruise to Hawaii. I love Hawaii. Been there multiple times (including a four month job). DCL used to do 15 night RT cruises to Hawaii. You would spend 4-5 days on the islands. Pretty much one island per day. The rest at sea.

But importantly, I heard a lot of reports of the Pacific being rough.

The new, shorter cruise to HI is one way. That means a flight to or from Vancouver and Honolulu and your home.

Any chance of getting in a Panama Canal in a year or two? I don’t think there’s a plan to keep the Wonder on the West Coast in the next few years. It’s 14 days and is done in the spring and fall. Dates vary year to year.

If you could sneak in a shorter cruise before then, you could do an onboard booking and get the 10% cruise fare discount - while cruising again.

It is easy to get hooked. Glad you had a great time.

 

[Geomom]

So I have been slightly researching this and it looks like dvc members have exclusive cruises that go to hawaii more often than not. Dont know too much about it. Anyone dvc have more in the know info?

I've been a DVC member since 2008...I haven't heard about any DVC cruises to Hawaii.. DCL hasn't been doing Hawaii cruises very often...every 3-5 yrs, which is one reason the 2020 cruises sold out so quickly.

 

[bakerworld]

We enjoy DCL and WDW. WDW is only as busy as you make it ... although when figuring in a triad of little people, my guess would be that DCL would be more of a vacation for Mom & Dad.

 

[mostlytraveling4food]

Yep. Same here. Used to visit Disney world for about 3 weeks per year. Then took our first cruise on the fantasy 2 years ago. Have no interest in going to Disney anymore, we are cruisers now

After being on a Disney cruise, you realize how crowded Disney world is. How much planning is involved. How expensive everything is. How long the waits for all attractions are. No thanks for us!

As a parent of a 2.5 and 1 year old, WDW hasn’t been a vacation at all, even with my wife doing all of the work. You’re just parenting in a new location, without all of the things that make it easier at home.
We returned from our very first cruise with DCL on the Dream last Monday, and have unanimously decided that cruising is better for us for the next few years, than dragging our kids around at WDW.

 

[DisBNewB]

As a parent of a 2.5 and 1 year old, WDW hasn’t been a vacation at all, even with my wife doing all of the work. You’re just parenting in a new location, without all of the things that make it easier at home.
We returned from our very first cruise with DCL on the Dream last Monday, and have unanimously decided that cruising is better for us for the next few years, than dragging our kids around at WDW.

Though our kiddo is older than yours, I will say I know for sure that WDW wouldn't seem like a vacation. We just did our first cruise (DCL or anywhere else), and it was amazing. Even better - it stopped at WDW, so the kiddo and I got a day in the parks (with magic fastpasses so no having to plan ahead), surrounded by the relaxing actual cruise vacation. They're not running this itinerary next year, but I really hope they do it again in 2021, because it was pretty much perfect to get a little bit of the parks and a lot of the cruise.