Why a Disney Cruise?

[Scarlet_J]

We are planning a trip to Orlando to do a few days at Universal Studios. We were going to add on a few days to go to Disney, but thought maybe we could add on a short cruise instead. I looked into it and Disney Cruise are quite a bit more expensive than the other cruise lines. Will the extra cost be worth it for us?

Family of 4 with 2 girls ages 7 and 11. I'm okay with the cruise not being Disney themed and although I'm sure we'd enjoy some of the live shows, that's not a huge draw for us. We would be taking a cruise to the Bahamas (3-4 nights), so most cruises have stops at their private islands and maybe Nassau.

Disclaimer: Husband and I took a cruise pre-kids. While we enjoyed the trip, we weren't a huge fan of cruising. We are not sit all day at the beach kind of people. We tend to travel to cities with lots to explore so days at sea got a bit boring for us. However, the kids love swimming and water parks, and I think they'd be in awe of the ship.

 

[dcassetta]

We are planning a trip to Orlando to do a few days at Universal Studios. We were going to add on a few days to go to Disney, but thought maybe we could add on a short cruise instead. I looked into it and Disney Cruise are quite a bit more expensive than the other cruise lines. Will the extra cost be worth it for us?

Family of 4 with 2 girls ages 7 and 11. I'm okay with the cruise not being Disney themed and although I'm sure we'd enjoy some of the live shows, that's not a huge draw for us. We would be taking a cruise to the Bahamas (3-4 nights), so most cruises have stops at their private islands and maybe Nassau.

Disclaimer: Husband and I took a cruise pre-kids. While we enjoyed the trip, we weren't a huge fan of cruising. We are not sit all day at the beach kind of people. We tend to travel to cities with lots to explore so days at sea got a bit boring for us. However, the kids love swimming and water parks, and I think they'd be in awe of the ship.

Although the cruise is great for kids, it does not sound like DCL would be the best for your family.

The pools are tiny and the slide options are limited sometimes with long waits. Some lines, particularly RCCL and NCL, offer ships with more activities than Disney including more water areas and slides.

The short Bahamas cruises, on every line, mostly have opportunities to sit spend the day at a beach.

Nassau, which DCL and most other lines visit, is an interesting place but not what I would describe as having "lots to explore". Freeport, which some lines visit, is less interesting.

You might price a 3 or 4 night trip to WDW and compare that to the cruise, remembering meals are included in the cruise fare.

 

[Corwin]

It's worth it for us. We've now been on six DCL cruises and have two more booked (including one next month).

Our first Disney cruise was a 4-night cruise to the Bahamas. I always recommend that over the 3-day cruise because you get a sea day in the middle, and the 3-day cruise seems too rushed. For what it's worth, we've never been bored on a sea day, but if you look at our trips in my signature below, we usually appreciate the break a sea day provides.

The cost for a 3- or 4-day cruise to the Bahamas is usually not too bad -- you could even consider them as loss-leaders for DCL. While there is still a Disney premium compared to other cruise lines, the premium isn't outrageous.

If you do go on a Bahamas cruise, you could do an excursion to Atlantis if you like water parks. (On the other hand, you could also just do a stand-alone trip to Atlantis.)

Also note that you don't tend to get nickel-and-dimed on a Disney cruise as compared to other cruise lines.

Finally, we really like the family atmosphere and the vibe on DCL ships and since I hate casinos, I really appreciate them NOT being on their ships.

Good luck!

 

[diznymom]

We love DCL. We are cruising next w/o any kids (empty nesters). There are tons of activities every day. You can see some past Personal Navigators on the Disney Cruise Line Blog. https://disneycruiselineblog.com/personal-navigators/. This will give you an idea of things to do. They also have all of the menus and other stuff.

 

[mevelandry]

We are planning a trip to Orlando to do a few days at Universal Studios. We were going to add on a few days to go to Disney, but thought maybe we could add on a short cruise instead. I looked into it and Disney Cruise are quite a bit more expensive than the other cruise lines. Will the extra cost be worth it for us?

Family of 4 with 2 girls ages 7 and 11. I'm okay with the cruise not being Disney themed and although I'm sure we'd enjoy some of the live shows, that's not a huge draw for us. We would be taking a cruise to the Bahamas (3-4 nights), so most cruises have stops at their private islands and maybe Nassau.

Disclaimer: Husband and I took a cruise pre-kids. While we enjoyed the trip, we weren't a huge fan of cruising. We are not sit all day at the beach kind of people. We tend to travel to cities with lots to explore so days at sea got a bit boring for us. However, the kids love swimming and water parks, and I think they'd be in awe of the ship.

Based on what you are saying, I'm not sure DCL is the right fit for you (especially if the theme and the live shows are not a huge draw for you). The pools are "children soups" most of the time and there's one slide (Aquaduck with wait that can easily go from 30 to 60 minutes).

There's a big premium to sail with DCL vs other cruise lines (sometimes double the price per person) so I'm very hesitant.

And I haven't tried the other ships (other cruise lines) that are currently sailing to the Bahamas from PC so I'm also hesitant to recommend any of them at the moment.

Maybe go with WDW instead?

 

[lorimay]

There is something for everybody on DCL.
The pools my be small, but there is also the waterslide which is so much fun.
The kids clubs are great and there are a lot of activities in there to keep the kids happy.
The character meet and greets are so much better on the ship.
They also have the trivia and crafts that are enjoyable.

Go over to the Disneycruiselineblog.com and check out some of the Navigators from past Disney Dream Cruises to see all that is available for you and your family.

Disney Parks are an exhausting vacation, Disney Cruise line is relaxation and pampering.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Before you wonder about whether DCL itself is right for your family I'd definitely consider whether cruising at all is right for you, especially cruising in the Caribbean. I do think cruising the Caribbean is more akin to staying at a resort than it is exploring new and exciting areas. That being said, we love cruising and find it so relaxing. My cousins cruised with their two girls at roughly the age of yours, and the girls were sooooo bored. Just not their thing.

I would say this: cruising DCL is sometimes a small step up from the other lines, b/c they really seem to pride themselves on attentive service, maintaining a beautiful ship, and family friendly entertainment. Plus their private island is really lovely. Where I wouldn't choose DCL would be if the price was significantly less on a comparable line. RCCL for example has some mega ships that have way more for teens and tweens to do than DCL.

 

[Numtini]

I think DCL is great if you have young children (under 10?) or you're a big fan of the Disney theming. Other than that, it's an awful big up-sell in price from other lines, particularly if you're ambivalent about cruising at all, which it sounds like you are. You guys are at the cusp IMHO of when another line might be more attractive with bigger water slides and more thrill attractions, particularly if you don't care about Disney theming. Could go either way. One thing to be cautious about is that with kids, you really want the latest greatest ships from other lines. If you get a cheap cruise on an older ship, it might just be all booze all the time with little for kids.

 

[KashasMom]

It honestly doesn't sound like DCL is a good fit for you. You definitely pay a Disney premium for shows, characters, etc. Cruising may not even be a good fit for your family. While other cruise lines have great ships with a lot of activities, pools, etc. those are usually not 3-4 day cruises. You might get smaller, older ships for shorter cruises.

 

[cadien]

For the price difference and your interests, I'd do WDW instead and spend at least one of those days at one of the two Disney water parks.

 

[pixiedustedme]

the kids love swimming and water parks, and I think they'd be in awe of the ship.

They won't be swimming much on the ship as the pool is tiny & overcrowded. Each ship has at least one small waterslide, though, that is separate from the pool. In addition to that the Dream and Fantasy also have the Aqua Duck water coaster, and the Magic also has a drop-down slide called the Aqua Dunk. DCL's private island has a nice pair of waterslides in the ocean.

The expense is because it's Disney. The quality of the cruises is high, but they are overpriced nevertheless. Whether it's worth it or not is an individual call. My son and I love it and find it worth paying for. You might or might not feel the same way.

If you want to cruise and also explore new places, I recommend cruising to Alaska or Europe.

 

[RamblingMad]

I wouldn’t do a cruise less than 5 days. So much time is wasted boarding and settling in the first day.

 

[SmileEar2Ear]

I would skip the cruise and look into swimming with the Dolphins at Disvovery Cove. It’s an awesome day with several fun snorkeling areas and a “not so lazy” wild river and bird sanctuaries in addition to the dolphin part. Plus food is all included and they run specials quite a bit that give you 14 free days to SeaWorld and Aquatica. That is what we added on to our Universal trip last year when my kids were 8 & 11 and they loved it! Volcano Bay at Universal was also fun as long as you stay onsite and get in early.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Well--for us (just my wife and me) we like the family aspect of DCL. No roaming bands of drunks or packs of teens running all over the ship. The food is excellent as are the shows.