We officially cancelled

[ducklite]

We officially cancelled the back to back Magic cruises we had booked in October, 2004.

With limited activities which appealed to our son who will be 18 a tthe time, as well as thinking that perhaps some other lines and itineraries might be more appealing to us at this stage in our lives, we've decided to take a leave from Disney cruising for the time being.

We'll likely cruise DCL in a few years with my sister and her family--she wants to wait until the babies are older, IMHO a wise choice. But until then we're probably going to try Radisson, Seaborne, or Celebrity without our son, or maybe RCCL with him.

Anyone who was looking to book Cat 3 on the 10/4 and 10/11 sailings, stateroom 8032 just opened up, its fabulous. Take good care for it for us, we'll use it again some day for sure

Anne

 

[dis4me]

AWW Sorry to hear that but it is probably a wise choice if you want more activity for your son. My sister and brother did a Royal Carribean cruise when they were 17 and 19 and had a blast.

 

[Grumbo]

Carnival may be a good choice?

Cheers,
Grumbo

 

[Favorite Auntie]

Have a great time ~ Whatever you chose to do!

 

[SeaSpray]

Anne:

I remember a few months ago when you began to wonder if a different cruise line might be better for your family and DS. Please report back and let us know which line you decide on and how your DS enjoys it. Our DSs are getting older too and there might come a time when we'd choose a line other than Disney for our family cruises. I have to say that in the meantime, I am so excited and looking forward to our Disney cruise next summer. DSs will be 16 and 13 then and I am really hoping they enjoy it.

Have a wonderful time whichever line you decide on!!! And thanks for sharing your knowledge of DCL with us. I've enjoyed your trip report and photos.

 

[MiaSRN62]

Sorry to hear this Anne, but I can understand your reasons. We cruised in Nov '02 and my son was 15 at that time. He loved Common Grounds. We specifically booked our 2004 cruise during a time before he turns 18. His birthday is Dec 4 and we're booked for the Nov 6, 2004 cruise----so he is just making it as a 17 year old. He told us if he couldn't hang with Common Grounds he wouldn't want to go. I really think they should have some sort of activities for 18-21 year olds. Even though we have an 11 and 13 year old also, I can't see doing the Disney cruise past 2004 if my son won't be happy. I'm with you in trying another cruise line with expanded activities in the future. Good luck with your planning.

 

[mcnuss]

But until then we're probably going to try Radisson, Seaborne, or Celebrity without our son, or maybe RCCL with him

We've cruised Radisson, and it's a wise choice not to take a child or teen; it is definitely adults only. As for Celebrity, depending on the ship and/or itinerary, it's a toss up. We've had friends go to Alaska as part of a family reunion trip, and even though they were worried the kids would be bored without all the activities, they actually loved it. Another friend did the So. Carib route and their older kids loved it too. But I have heard that on some of their older ships, it's not much fun for anyone old enough to be out of the "clubs".

 

[Dancind]

Hope you'll still hang around, Ducklite. Your DCL knowledge is a valuable resource here. I can understand your choice, though. I'm kind of thinking along the same lines, but I'm also thinking NO WAY on a large RCCL ship until DD is at least 18 and proves she is responsible! I know DCL keeps a little better tabs on the teens than some of the other cruise lines. We are going on Celebrity this Christmas, and she will still be in the youth program (barely). Diana

 

[minniecarousel]

Wise choice. Even if I knew then what I know now, I wouldn't have changed things...but...our DSs were 21 & 23 this past July when we did the 3-day cruise. There weren't that many things for them to do. They enjoyed the day at CC - but the evenings were pretty uneventful for them (& they could go into the bars!) I say it's tough enough to get an 18 year old to go on vacation with the folks - better find something spectacular!

 

[CaliforniaDreaming]

Anne, now I'm really starting to worry. Maybe we should look towards another cruise line, too? I was planning on a DCL Western, but now I'm thinking maybe a Princess (Golden Princess) Southern Caribbean would be better. Any opinions?

 

[Regina]

I'd love to take these off your hands, but I don't think DD's professors would be too understanding.

DH and I always laugh when the topic of teens/young adults comes up. We're trying to figure out if we're doing something very wrong or very right. Our three are 22, 21 and 18, and they always want to come with us to Disney.

Last February, we took our DD on the DVC Member Cruise when she was 17. She loved it so much that we went on a Western in August when she was 18. She had a blast and really enjoyed the adult entertainment. She mostly hung around with us, but I can be pretty silly so we spent a lot of time giggling.

In January, she and our 21 yr old DD are doing an Eastern before heading back to college.

 

[jlawall]

I have children in the upper teens and young 20s as well. My only thought is....where do I want to cruise? I've sailed on other lines some good, some not so good,....DCL is the only line which really personalizes the service with Disney's unique flair. It is a special vacation for my family. One day I will take them on other cruises if they insist. Right now, DCL is still making the best memories for our family!!

 

[ducklite]

Originally posted by Grumbo
Carnival may be a good choice?

Cheers,
Grumbo

I have several friends who have tried Carnival, and not one of them cared for it, so I don't think so, but thanks for the suggestion.

RCCL has the most appeal for DS, Celebrity and Radisson appeal to DH and I. Maybe we'll do one trip with him on RCCL, and another without him on one of the other lines... Good excuse to cruise twice, right?



Anne

 

[ducklite]

Originally posted by mcnuss
We've cruised Radisson, and it's a wise choice not to take a child or teen; it is definitely adults only. As for Celebrity, depending on the ship and/or itinerary, it's a toss up. We've had friends go to Alaska as part of a family reunion trip, and even though they were worried the kids would be bored without all the activities, they actually loved it. Another friend did the So. Carib route and their older kids loved it too. But I have heard that on some of their older ships, it's not much fun for anyone old enough to be out of the "clubs".

Thanks for your comments, I agree, Radisson is probably not a good line for teens. Glad to hear about Celebrity though, Alaska on Celebrity is one of the ideas we've been toying with, and we were wondering if our son might like that one.

Although now friends have asked us to consider Crystal with them, but I'm not sure about that one, definitely not with our son...

Oh, decisions, decisions!

Anne

 

[ducklite]

Originally posted by CaliforniaDreaming
Anne, now I'm really starting to worry. Maybe we should look towards another cruise line, too? I was planning on a DCL Western, but now I'm thinking maybe a Princess (Golden Princess) Southern Caribbean would be better. Any opinions?

Cali--I think you need to look at the activities available for the various age groups in your travelling party and think about it from there. I can't comment on Princess, as I haven't taken more than a cursery look a tit.

Anne

 

[Vals]

Well, i have to disagree with most of you re taking kids over 17 yrs old on the DCL! I took my son-almost 21 & dd 25-almost 26 1st week in Sept. 03. Well, they both had a blast & a 1/2! Jason my DS 20-met quite a few kids his age & a bit older & hung out with them @ night-he esp had a great time in Cozumel . We did things together during the day & then he went on his own bef dinner & after dinner. In fact he loved it so much that he bot 150 DVC pts while we were on the cruise! for SSR! THe cruise & ship appeals to all ages, there were a lot of couples & singles without kids! I would certainly recommend it & my son would be glad to speak to your kids. have a great weekend

 

[akasleepingbeauty]

Ducklite,

We also canceled our cruise for the same reason. It was to be a big big vacation to celebrate dd's hs graduation and our 10th year anniversary. We waited on a waitlist forever for 2004 reservations to open so that we could secure the WD Suite and we were all very excited. But then as dd thought more and more about it she decided she just didn't want to go back as an over-18-year-old (she cruised at 15 on the Magic and had a great time). So after a long family discussion we decided that we could not justify the cost of the cruise if everyone wasn't going to be able to have. or at least expect to have, a fabulous time.

So for now we have nothing planned. DD could not come up with any other ideas where we could all have fun (we also have a 3 y/o dd and a 7 month old ds) and that she really would enjoy also. She still enjoys going to WDW with us (although she likes bringing a friend if possible - tried to do this for the cruise but could not find anyone who could pay even a portion of their part) but the cruise seems out for the whole family at this point.

We are hoping to cruise DCL again in 2005 with just us and the little ones but it won't be quite as memorable an occasion and it won't be in the WDS - oh well it was fun to dream about for a while.

I do agree that DCL would do well to develop more activities/programming geared toward the 18-21 set but I understand that they may just not see the need if there aren't that many cruisers in that age range.

Hope you find another cruise line that suits your family better and that all enjoy a memorable vacation together!