to cruise or not to cruise

[bhillier]

I went to DW in May with my family (girlfriend, DD 5, DS 9) and my parents and my brother and his ds 4. We stayed 8 days @ Poly. We all had the time of our lives. This vacation was better then any other.

I was thinking about returning to DW before our AP's expire. This time I was thinking about adding a short cruise. Maybe 3-4 day onto the land (Poly).

There is something about being on the ship that I'm unsure about. I don't know what it is. From the pictures that I've seen for example the deck and pool area looks confined or small. I'm just not sure.

Any others out there that have been unsure about the cruise? I hear from many that cruises that they have taken are among the best vacations. There is just something I'm not sure about.

 

[traycie2201]

you can order the dcl dvd from their website which gives an insider look at the ship, yes i believe the pools are quite small but the adult pool is always there for a swim, i don't think the decks are small but i haven't cruised yet. I'm sure you'll get lots of feedback on this and be able to make a decision but you won't know until you try it and starting off with a short cruise is a good intro to cruising.

 

[gratefulone]

Brad,

I did my first cruise in May and it was an amazing experience. The space is actually a good size and not confined or small. I was surprised that they were able to fit so much on a moving vessel.

Try it you might be surprised. Good luck

 

[crisi]

I was uncertain about cruising as well.

The cabins are fairly small (although DCL has some of the largest), but you don't spend much time there.

The pools are fairly small, don't go on DCL to swim.

We had great weather, but the chance of bad weather and seasickness scared me.

But we had a great time. There is something quite pleasant about a lounge chair, a book, and a Bahama Mama - plus lots and lots of food.

 

[Susan Prescott]

We are going on our 3rd cruise this month. We did our first 3 day in February of 2003. I never thought I would like cruising. I am very claustrophobic and felt I'd be confined. My brother-in-law is the same way. We absolutely loved it. It's an experience you won't ever forget. The only problem is once you have cruised once, you'll want to cruise again and again. It becomes very addicting.

 

[Dis4kids]

Prior to our first cruise in 2000, I thought I'd find it stuffy, too formal, and boring. I couldn't have been more wrong. There is so much to do on a Disney cruise. We'll go on our 4th cruise on the July 17th Magic.

 

[Susan Prescott]

Hi Dis4Kids, it looks like we're on the same cruise. If you go to Cruise Meets, you'll find a thread on the 7/17 Western. There are a bunch of people that are going that have children. There will be 8 of us in our party. My nephew is 16, my son 13 and my daughter 10.

 

[Dis4kids]

Thanks Susan. I'll look up the thread.

We'll have DD's, 9 and 5. We'll be the loud obnoxious family. Are strait-jackets and duct tape allowed on the ship?

Just kidding, I think. They're just sooooo excited.

 

[kcashner]

We've done 10 cruises on DCL, and have 2 more booked....so I may not be the best person to ask.


The cabins are small, but are about 1/3 larger than the standard in the cruise industry. You spend very little awake time in your cabin. The pools aren't terribly large, but usually only the Mickey (kiddie) pool is crowded. The Goofy pool and adult pool rarely are. The public spaces are large and spacious. The kid areas are great. We find cruising on DCL to be our favorite vacation. It is much more relaxing than the parks, and I joke that the ship is a Mom vacation as well. At the parks, Mom still has to worry about where we are eating, what we are doing, etc. On the ship, Mom has no worries!

 

[Masonpips]

Before our first cruise, my parents and sister + BIL had been on numerous cruises and I was always saying "seems like you're trapped on a ship, what if you don't like it?". Somehow DH convinced me to try a cruise so I was considering land/sea packages. I kept reading more and more about the cruise and in comparing it to the parks and tired, hungry, hot kids, the cruise sounded great.

Both cruises have far surpassed our expectations and were MUCH better than visiting the parks (which we did after cruise) in terms of relaxing family time.

If the kids going are interested in characters, the ratio of people to characters for interaction cannot be beat on the cruise - between Mickey (and Minnie) waving to you as you board to the character breakfast to seeing random characters in the halls, on stage during the shows and making appearances in the clubs, there are TONS to see and the kids LOVE it.

The adult/kid mix of activities is fabulous too. Even on our second cruise when we thought we knew what we wanted to do, we still missed doing it all - had to book a 3rd.

 

[skoi]

We were another family to vow we'd never cruise, even on Disney as cruising was for snobs and old people. Well, I got brainwashed seeing all the Royal Carribbean commercials, and finally convinced the family to go along with it for a 4 day. We ended up on the 7 day Western and it was a great vacation.

Yes, the cabins are smaller than most hotel rooms, though we've had a few in Europe and Washington DC that were smaller.

Pools got crowded beyond my tolerance level, but my kids liked it.

When we got home, I asked the kids dd 9 and ds 5 if they liked the cruise or the parks better, dd said she'd rather go on more cruises and spend less time in the parks, and she was the most resistant to going in the first place.

Julie

 

[hmneal]

It took me 10yrs to talk DH into TRYING a cruise! We did a 4day in March and he loved it! The kids cried when we got off the ship & were blue all day (and we went straight to WDW, just not the same for them!) We're now planning a 7day Western for next year! I say GO FOT IT!

 

[TaraBelle1069]

I went on my first cruise in March (Royal Caribbean) and I loved it! All my life, I never thought I would enjoy a cruise....being "stuck" on a ship and all that. Now, here I am, having booked my first Disney cruise for 10 months after my first. I never felt claustrophobic in my cabin and it was smaller than the smallest Disney cabin. You don't have to spend much time in there but even when I did, it didn't bother me. There is lots to do if you want to do it and then you can just chill if you don't.

To me, it's a much better value than going somewhere and having to pay for a hotel, meals and stuff to do (I'm not an all-inclusive, sit on a beach, kind of girl). Does that mean I'm going to give up my "normal" WDW and Disneyland vacations? Not on your life. In fact, I took my first cruise from LA and added on three days at Disneyland. In November, we are spending a day at Magic Kingdom before the cruise. (I can get away with one day as we just went in September and the new things are at MK).

Don't worry about cruising. I have met so many people that have taken so many cruises and have yet to meet someone who didn't enjoy a cruise (though I'm sure they are out there).

 

[kshabare]

If I knew then what I know now, I would've taken my first cruise on my honeymoon in 1991. Of course that was pre-DCL but hey, I had no idea.
We've been to WDW some times before, including XMAS at WDW. You can have it. I love the charachters and there's plenty of good memories but there's nothing like cruising on DCL. It's classy and fun too. I love the layout. I like the pools - it's water and it's not salt water. The food is better than McDonalds (although I've LOVED DCL food every time I've gone.). I love not having to make my bed (and not feeling guilty about it). I love going to a show after dinner (and not paying extra). I love getting a chocolate on my pillow every night and having the bedding pulled down just waiting for me to dream sweet dreams.
I'll be back to WDW again, I know I will. For now I'm booked on #5, Western, with my family and I'm counting every day...

Kim