Was Disney your first cruise? Did you cruise others? Do you only cruise Disney now??

[Tigger98]

In 07, my sister turned 40 and wanted to spend it in Disney. We did a land & sea package, and that started our new family reunions. Here are the cruises we have been on:
1) 07 - DCL Wonder: loved it!!
2) 08 - DCL Wonder (just me, DH, and DS): loved it!!
3) 08 NCL Majesty (Christmas Cruise): A cold front followed us the entire trip, and compared it to DCL almost the entire trip.
4) 10 NCL Epic: It was ok, but had to pre-book for all the entertainment. The water slides were cool.

Overall, we still put DCL at the top!!

 

[CruisinEars]

DCL Magic was our first cruise in 2008. On day 2 my hubby and I were looking at each other and saying "I love cruising!!!". We were totally hooked. Even when we had the creaking of the ship and sewer smells in the cabin, I thought it was normal so we had the best cruise.

We have since sailed on RCCL and Princess. We have had terrific cruises for all 3. We told our servers on the Mariner of the Seas that we had been on Disney and they did everything they could to out shine that experience. I have to say, they were wonderful.

I had such a great experience with cruising that I now work for Princess. Needless to say, our next 2 cruises are planned with Princess due to my employee pricing. We did have a Dream cruised booked, but had to change plans due to a wedding we will be attending.

Would I cruise DCL again? In a heartbeat!

 

[Johngar]

Our first EVER cruise was the 15-night westbound Panama Canal in 2008 on the Magic. We were HOOKED. We have done four DCL cruises since and are not looking at any other cruise line. We have good friends who are platinum members on another cruise line and also have done Disney and the only thing they say is better on the other line is the food, but it's pretty close. And everything else makes up for the food.
When I was on the car rental shuttle to the port to get on the Magic on 2008, there was another couple (retired) who had done 15 cruises the previous year. They said they had never done Disney because they don't have kids. When I replied that we didn't either, the guy turned to his wife and said, "That may have just changed mind."

 

[MrsKP]

My husband went on Carnival and I went on RCCL before we met. We did a DCL cruise in 2006 with DS. Hubby is not a big fan of cruising. However, we are looking at DCL Med cruise. I told him there were other lines that we could consider. He said "absolutely not" we do DCL or we don't cruise.

 

[ua1992]

First cruise was carnival - next three were DCL. No comparison between carnival and DCL. We will sail on Disney from now on *o*

 

[FJS961]

Yes, No, and Yes (so far)

 

[lovethedream]

DCL was our first cruise (for the first two cruises actually). RCCL was our second and Carnival was our third. Still think DCL is the number one cruise line with Carnival and RCCL rounding out the top three.

 

[edk35]

Thanks for the replies. I am enjoying reading all them.

 

[lovethedream]

Yes, No, and Yes (so far)

I love your answer. Short, sweet and to the point!

 

[Husurdady]

Three questions.......three anwsers......YES , NO , YES. You will love a DCL cruise..............GO-4-IT.

 

[Bareacuda]

We've done 2 Big Red Boat cruises 1995 and 1996.

It was right after our '96 cruise out TA told us Disney has a ship coming out.

We drove as fast as we could to put a deposit on a cruise we didnt know then it was coming out, where it was going or what the price was... but we did get a varendah room!

Now it's only DCL for us...15 or 16 cruises later ....still very happy!


Ann

 

[melmar136]

We cruised DCL for 8 times and then we took HAL to Alaska last Aug. Scared to death that it wouldn't meet DCL's standards. Thoroughly enjoyed it. We would sail with them again in a heartbeat. With that being said, we have now cruised DCL a total of 10 times.

We were on HAL to Alaksa last Aug as well. It was actually with a "Twilight themed" group. Fun, but without those activities, I don't think we would have had a lot to do. Especially for DD. I told her then she needed to experience a Disney cruise! It'll be my 4 cruise (2nd on DCL) so not a ton to compare it to, but loved DCL from when I went way back in 1998! Can't wait til I get to see her on the Dream in August!

 

[jiminyC_fan]

We were on HAL to Alaksa last Aug as well. It was actually with a "Twilight themed" group. Fun, but without those activities, I don't think we would have had a lot to do. Especially for DD. I told her then she needed to experience a Disney cruise! It'll be my 4 cruise (2nd on DCL) so not a ton to compare it to, but loved DCL from when I went way back in 1998! Can't wait til I get to see her on the Dream in August!

How funny. We were on the Statendam Southbound. I believe it was Aug 13th. We loved it. We loved the itinerary with the train, Denali and all the rest. Yay, you get to sail on the Dream. It's a beautiful ship. We were on the MV B2B. I loved the Dream but I have to say that I prefer the smaller ship like the Statendam. It's even smaller than the Magic and Wonder.

 

[WDWLVR]

My first cruise was back in 1977 (maybe 78) so well before Disney started cruising. I've been on a number of lines (some now out of business) but ever since I first sailed DCL in 1999 it has been the only line for my DH and I. I would definitely try other lines and most likely will in the future but we keep going back to DCL because of the line and the friends we've made sailing on it.

 

[tidefan]

We've done 4 cruises with Princess and 1 with DCL (Eastern Magic). We are doing a B2B on the Dream next month. I love both lines and each offers a great experience. There is nothing like the Kids Clubs and the Entertainment like you get on a Disney cruise. That said, the Dining and Elegance of the Princess ships are great as well. I like the concept of "anytime dining" on Princess (no, this is not the same as "freestyle dining" on NCL) and how it allows you to do things on your own time.

I'd go on either line again in a heartbeat...

 

[rlmas]

Our first cruise was 1991 - Honeymoon on Carnival. We had a great time and thought it was the best thing ever. Our second cruise was 1999 on the Wonder with kids 3 and 5. We loved it, but it was just a 4 night. Our third cruise was in 2001 - 10th anniversary without kids and back to Carnival for nostalgic reasons. It was just ok as far as the cruise. Staff and officers not real friendly, ship condition, food and shows were good, but not great. Our fourth cruise was back with Disney in 2005 for a week on the Magic. We and the kids now 9 & 11 had the "best vacation ever". Our fifth cruise was back on the Magic with kids and my parents and my wife's mother. It was 2007 and we went for a week. My parents have been on maybe 8 cruises on RCL. They raved about the condition of the ship, the food, the staff and especially Castaway Cay. They said RCL ships that were newer were not in as good of condition. They really liked not having to tender to Castaway Cay like RCL's island. For our fifth cruise in the summer of 2011, we thought long and hard about a non-Disney trip as the kids are nor 15 and 17. They would have none of it and my wife's comment said it all..."What if we take another line and regret it". I guess we are hooked. At the end of the day, we just are not willing to rick a non-DCL cruise.

 

[MrsJobba1]

Our first cruise was our honeymoon back in 2000 - it was a once in a lifetime holiday !
Well
This year will be cruise no. 7!
We've only ever cruised Disney.
Just to note - we don't have children!
Serenity bay is amazing
Staff have always been top notch !

 

[NancyIL]

I can totally see the appeal of DCL for families with little kids. But service-wise, while it was great service, it was no better than on the other lines I've sailed with. And the food on the Magic really left a lot to be desired.

I agree with your sentiments, although I thought the food on the Wonder was comparable to other cruise lines.

I cruised on HAL, Royal Caribbean, and Princess before my first Wonder cruise in 2008. I went on one more Wonder Bahamas cruise and will sail on the Dream this Sunday. I don't know if I will book another Disney cruise while onboard, because so far none of the 2012 cruise itineraries interest me. My next cruises are on HAL, RCI, and possibly a Princess cruise in April.

 

[Otimon]

We cruised on the Crown Princess many, many years ago with a group from my husband's company. All expenses were paid (nice).

Since then we've only cruised Disney and our 16th Disney cruise will be coming up 3/10 on the Dream.

 

[disneyholic family]

DCL is good for families with children below the age of 18...
however, for older families and couples, i think there are better cruise lines than disney...

as another poster stated,for me smaller is better.....i really am not interested in being on a ship with 4,000 other people...even the Wonder had too many people...

the only reason i'll go on a DCL cruise now is to join the podcasters...
otherwise i'll look at the other (luxury) cruise lines..
for what DCL is charging for the concierge rooms, my money will be better spent on the luxury lines..