What would you do? WDW or Disney Cruise Line??

[CuracaoGirl]

We are doing our first DCL cruise in November...the more I read about it, the more I get excited!!! Great Choice!!

Yay! I hope to hear all about it.

 

[CuracaoGirl]

We've done WDW once and Disney Dream once. WDW was me, DH, and DD, who was 4 at the time. Cruise was me, my mom, and DD, who was 5 at the time. I would do WDW. The cruise was nice and the ship was beautiful, but it was over in a flash and not a lot for DD to do but meet princesses and go to the pool. We took a carriage ride in Nassau, went to the beach on the private island, and saw the evening shows. That was all really. There's way more to do at WDW. We could have done either for our upcoming trip, and we chose WDW. Maybe you should let her choose. Really, you can't go wrong either way.

She wants to do both which unfortunately is not an option.
But she seemed pretty excited when I showed her some videos of the cruise, so I guess I can't really go wrong.

 

[Kimberly9701]

Oh trust me...I've done a LOT of reading and watching these past couple of
days.
It all seems so exciting and fun, but I guess it's just a fear of the unknown.
If you know what I mean....
I've even talked to my daughter about it and she seems to want to try something new also. She actually wants to do both but unfortunately I can't make that happen. It's just too much for this "poor" single mom.

I think a cruise is a fine vacation!! More than fine!!

 

[Poola]

But she seemed pretty excited when I showed her some videos of the cruise, so I guess I can't really go wrong.

Even though my DD was 5 when we went, she still talks about it. You'll have a great time.

 

[Pooh2]

Thank you all for your ideas and suggestions.
I have officially started planning and saving for a cruise in April 2017.
I thought it would be a good idea to step out of my comfort zone and try something new and different.
I'm already so excited!!!

That is awesome! There is a great disneycruise line thread further down the boards that I've been reading getting ready for our first cruise this summer. Great info! Have fun planning!

 

[CuracaoGirl]

That is awesome! There is a great disneycruise line thread further down the boards that I've been reading getting ready for our first cruise this summer. Great info! Have fun planning!

Yeah... I found those and I'm hooked!

 

[JimmyV]

My $0.02. WDW is extraordinarily unique and superior for what it offers in comparison to its "competitors". DCL is marginally different and its "superiority" can be debated depending on the criteria used. And its price point is now off the charts compared to its competitors. When I want a "DISNEY vacation" I choose WDW. When I want to take a cruise, I look elsewhere. Not saying that you shouldn't look into a cruise. But for the price of a 4 day Bahamian cruise (which is both short and (IMHO) an uninteresting itinerary), you could do at least 7 days to more interesting places on ships that will please you greatly. For us, the price gap between WDW and other options is worth the upcharge. The price gap between DCL and Princess, Celebrity or Royal Caribbean is not. I will take longer cruises to more interesting places on other cruise lines every time.

 

[dtrain]

My fiancée and I had a similar choice to make, and we decided on the Star Wars Cruise in January since we've done WDW 2x, Disney variety is the spice of life

 

[rg35]

I have cruised on Princess (pre-kids), and Carnival and NCL, and DCL (with kids). I would cruise DCL again in a heartbeat. We did the Magic out of NYC in 2012. The stop at Port Canaveral was our kids' first trip to the Magic Kingdom (park tickets were included in the cruise). We purchased DVC later that year and have been to the Disney parks each year since (and this year).

They are different kind of trips, to be sure. A cruise will be ultra relaxing, and Disney's Castaway Cay island is just really well done. I would say do the cruise, see if you like the experience. Our kids loved going to the kids club and doing all the activities, so you might also wind up with some time for yourself too.

 

[Winniebell10]

Thank you all for your ideas and suggestions.
I have officially started planning and saving for a cruise in April 2017.
I thought it would be a good idea to step out of my comfort zone and try something new and different.
I'm already so excited!!!

I'm excited for you! Seriously, you will love it.

 

[MaineChapmans]

Hubby thought he wouldn't like a cruise, he "went along" because we were all going...and he said it was "the best vacation I've ever had." He thought he'd be "stuck on a ship" and "bored after two days" but he just said in a singsong voice, "Not the case!!"

I'm usually the trip planner, I often do the driving (cities don't bother me), I arrange hotels, usually pay attention to where to go, how to get there, what to do...etc. And I'm the one who always tidies up the hotels, etc. (I'm the mom...and I have three kids--two daughters and a hubby!)

HOWEVER...a DCL was awesome because:

Someone else did the driving from port to port (the captain)
Someone else made the beds and cleaned the room
Someone else did the cooking
Someone else arranged the excursions (all I did was point and click)
Someone else entertained my kids for HOURS so I could relax and do other things on sea days
Someone else figured out what my kids liked to eat and took care of it
Someone else brought them snacks

The weird thing is, much as I love my kids, hubby and I found ourselves at a loss because after we got onboard and sailed away from NYC, the kids seemed to totally evaporate. Poof! Gone in a puff of smoke. Mom-in-law went to her stateroom to rest, and hubby and I literally looked at each other and said, "What do we do now?"

It was WEIRD. But it was the most relaxing trip we ever took.

Loved every bit of it. You won't regret it!

Disney Magic forever...and we get to go back August 20 this year on the Magic's Mediterranean sailing! Yay!

Have fun on your future DCL!

 

[Nick Taylor]

I would go for the cruise.