Which is the best cruise?

[Napuaoalani]

My family has not yet been on a Disney cruise, but was curious to know which cruise was best? Also, do you recommend traveling on one of the holiday cruises?

 

[DCSWO]

There isn’t a best cruise, only what is best for you. Good luck in your search.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

My family has not yet been on a Disney cruise, but was curious to know which cruise was best? Also, do you recommend traveling on one of the holiday cruises?

Define "best".

Lowest cost?
Itinerary?
Weather?
Theme cruises?

Best would be specific to each person/party traveling. Hard for us to tell you what's best.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

My family has not yet been on a Disney cruise, but was curious to know which cruise was best? Also, do you recommend traveling on one of the holiday cruises?

The best cruise for me is the longest one. Holiday cruises are definitely more expensive. If you’re Marvel fans I would do one of those, we had a great time on ours. Like others said, there are way too many variables to just say which is best.

We started out with a 3 night on the Dream and it was too short. If you want to test the waters to see if you like cruising, I would recommend a 4 or 5 night cruise. I would set a budget of what you want to spend and when you want to go and then pick a ship and itinerary from there.

 

[Numtini]

Within the limits of affordability, a longer cruise will give you a lot more value. For one thing, the first day is almost completely programmed for you. You get on halfway through the day, but you're stuck with your carry on stuff until the cabins open, you do something until the lifeboat drill, then you do that, then you have dinner, and then you finally have some really free time. So any cruise, it's almost like you should subtract one day. You also need some time to sort yourself out and figure out where things are and get over the "OMG I'm on a Disney ship?! This is great! WOW..." We found on our first cruise that it was only on the third day that we really started to feel like we were doing more than just blundering through the days. But it was fun even when we were blundering, so if long isn't in your budget, don't think it's not worth doing!

 

[Mom24Princesses]

I also vote for longest possible. Holidays are much more expensive - even double. If that’s a factor. I prefer a “plain” non holiday- non themed cruise. However our recent Halloween cruise was fun. Different - but fun.

 

[Bonnie1222]

"Best" is a completely subjective and each one of here will tell you something different on why/what makes a cruise best for us.

What do you and your family like to do?
Are you beach people?
Do you like scenery?
Places with historical significance/rich cultural history?
Do you want to leave our of the US or will any port do?
Have you ever been on a cruise previously? (Do you know if you get sea sick or not and how you react being on a ship for a long period of time?)

DH and I love the Western Caribbean cruises because it has 4 stops, the islands is goes to are easy to explore on your own, it is convenient (leaves our of Port Canaveral and we live just over an hour away). I like going to a beach, but only for a short period of time and DH hates the beach but tolerates it for me. There are lots of other things to do at the ports we visit that he enjoys. We have done HOTHS and VM cruises which are a lot of fun, but we have just as much fun on cruises with not themes or special days at sea as well.

Best of luck on your search. Once you narrow it down, you can search the boards for that cruise (if themed or the itinerary) to find out pros/cons from those who have taken those cruises.

 

[keiichiz28]

when I was looking at cruises to book, I weighed length vs cost plus time of year. the longer cruises are more expensive especially ones when school is out. but the short cruises are.... short. we settled on the 5-night as an in-between. felt like it'd still be a lot of cruising for our dollar plus two stops at Castaway.

 

[LizGirl]

The longest cruise! We like sea days but everyone has their own preferences.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

The EBPC was the "best" for us because it was 14 days of pure relaxation. But the cruise coming up in Sept maybe our best 3 days with our grand niece and nephews for their first cruise.

 

[motherdaughtercruisers]

Our first cruise was a Very Merrytime. It was incredible to see the ship decked out in Christmas for us, but we really appreciate Christmas decor and such. However, as it was our very first cruise ever, we didn't have anything to compare it to so seeing the Christmas decor itself was awesome to us - it made the cruise even more special because of the Christmas decor. That said, your cruise is going to be amazing with Disney regardless because it's Disney! Bottom line, and as others have said, it is really about what you and your family value/enjoy and what your priorities are. If this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and you doubt you'll be able to go on another cruise in your life, I probably wouldn't limit my choices to a holiday cruise for the pure fact that it is a holiday cruise. If you know you'll be able to go on another in the future, consider a holiday cruise but don't feel pressured to take the holiday cruise because I don't see Disney taking them away any time soon. If you know your family really enjoys a specific holiday cruise that is offered like we enjoy Christmas, then don't be shy to go for the holiday cruise - you know it'll mean something to you and your family and that's what will make your cruise magical. Hope this helps!

 

[MillauFr]

I would pick one of the Alaska cruises out of Vancouver.

 

[mocodis]

I would pick one of the Alaska cruises out of Vancouver.

Alaska is among my favorite.

 

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

Doing my first cruise ever in 2021. I chose a 5 night cruise to Cozumel & Castaway Cay on board the Disney Magic. I personally wanted an extra day at sea (no port, just travel on the water) to really experience that aspect of a cruise. I also went with Magic because I'm a Tangled fan (has a restaurant that's themed and a Tangled! The Musical live show.)

But this is what is "best" for me. You may have different tastes, destinations in mind, etc. Your best bet is to look at thr Disney Cruise site & see what destinations they offer, length of cruise, etc.

 

[kiford]

As others have stated "best" is very subjective. It can also include timing. We're doing a 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruise in January 2020. We've done it before, aren't terribly keen on Caribbean cruises since we've done several, accidentally booked a Star Wars cruise (not really interested in that) but we really felt like we wanted to cruise and it fit our schedules. So by that definition it was the best for us. Our actual preference is longer cruises and especially European ones. So the "best" cruise is one that fits your priorities best, however you define that.

 

[bobbiwoz]

We enjoy the longer cruises best. However, we also like the short Merrytime and Halloween cruises as well!

 

[Thumper99]

Alaska was our favorite. My kids were teens so we were glad we got to take them up to see that part of the country since we are on the east coast. Plus we didn’t have to pull them from school. Expensive trip both in cost of cruise and travel to Vancouver. But worth it!

Now if you want a traditional fun Caribbean cruise, depending on budget and timing I would hit the Eastern Caribbean. Love the islands there!!
Truthfully any cruise on Disney is fun but I would not waste my money on a three day. Pay a little more for a four night or hit one of the great five nights they usually offer on the Magic.

 

[xlxo]

@Napuaoalani: Where do you plan to be cruising?

As others have mentioned there are several factors to a best cruise line experience...

• can't beat Disney for young families that can afford the pixie dust
• without children... I've found other cruise lines target their amenities to different age groups
• some ports/itineraries work better with certain cruise lines. Can't believe Disney does not do Glacier Bay when sailing in Alaska.

 

[tvguy]

There isn’t a best cruise, only what is best for you. Good luck in your search.

Exactly.
Ports. Cruise line. Length of cruise. Time of year. Price. Type of stateroom.
Safer to talk about politics or religion.
I've cruised Paquet, NCL (twice), RCCL (twice), HAL (twice), DCL, NCL America (which is slightly different that NCL) and Celebrity. Caribbean (6 times). Alaska (twice) Hawaii and the Pacific Coast.
I would do any of them again.

 

[jdb in AZ]

@Napuaoalani: Where do you plan to be cruising?

• some ports/itineraries work better with certain cruise lines. Can't believe Disney does not do Glacier Bay when sailing in Alaska.

DCL would love to do Glacier Bay but they haven't been able to get permits to sail there. yet. It hasn't been for lack of trying.