Will my husband have a good time?

[WooWoo]

Hi all!

I have posted here for only a short time and you have all given some great advice. Here I am again asking for you help.

My husband is reluctant to go on a Disney cruise. Here is the situation... I have a daughter who is 5 and I want to give her the magic of Disney PLUS give my husband a nice vacation as well. My husband is a very practical man and has never even been to Vegas (he probably will never go) because he says he doesn't want to be disillusioned and feels that the whole Disney thing is the same type of thing and he is not sure where the value is for him. (We do enjoy all of the Disney movies together so it is not like he hates the whole Disney thing.) We did get a good price for the cruise but with airfare, excursions, etc, we are still looking at a couple thousand dollars for only 4 days and he has a hard time justifying the expense. I don't want to say he is cheap because in truth both my daughter and myself are treated like "real life princesses"... there are not too many things we go without. Lets just say he is a very frugal man.

He agrees that my daughter would be in awe with all of the characters and it would be fabulous for her but I really would LOVE for all of us to go together. I have never been to Disney myself so I am at a loss as to what to tell him.

I thought a cruise would be best because he could get away for a little bit to do adult things if he wanted to. In his own words he can only look at Mickey for so long ( LOL.. my hubby is one of a kind!!!!) Can someone give me feedback? Besides the excursions what is there to keep his interest? I know he will enjoy seeing things thru my daughter's eyes but what type of activities are there for adults on the ship while cruising?

Thanks!

 

[prymsu]

I am guessing that he will like the cruise. At first i had a really hard time convincing my husband to take a cruise, and since that first one, well he is the first of us to say so when is the next one as soon as we get home.

 

[NYDisneyMom]

Originally posted by WooWoo
Hi all!

I have posted here for only a short time and you have all given some great advice. Here I am again asking for you help.

My husband is reluctant to go on a Disney cruise. Here is the situation... I have a daughter who is 5 and I want to give her the magic of Disney PLUS give my husband a nice vacation as well. My husband is a very practical man and has never even been to Vegas (he probably will never go) because he says he doesn't want to be disillusioned and feels that the whole Disney thing is the same type of thing and he is not sure where the value is for him. (We do enjoy all of the Disney movies together so it is not like he hates the whole Disney thing.) We did get a good price for the cruise but with airfare, excursions, etc, we are still looking at a couple thousand dollars for only 4 days and he has a hard time justifying the expense. I don't want to say he is cheap because in truth both my daughter and myself are treated like "real life princesses"... there are not too many things we go without. Lets just say he is a very frugal man.

He agrees that my daughter would be in awe with all of the characters and it would be fabulous for her but I really would LOVE for all of us to go together. I have never been to Disney myself so I am at a loss as to what to tell him.

I thought a cruise would be best because he could get away for a little bit to do adult things if he wanted to. In his own words he can only look at Mickey for so long ( LOL.. my hubby is one of a kind!!!!) Can someone give me feedback? Besides the excursions what is there to keep his interest? I know he will enjoy seeing things thru my daughter's eyes but what type of activities are there for adults on the ship while cruising?

Thanks!

My husband was very happy on the cruise last week. Some ESPN sportscaster was on the ship and he went to both of his "lectures" and wound up spending some time with the guy on the ship. I also booked him a half day of fishing on Castaway Cay. He took my boys to the movies TWICE -- giving me some much needed alone time. He went up to the basketball and golf events and kept saying he wanted to do the bridge tour but he never did!

 

[WooWoo]

Originally posted by NYDisneyMom
He went up to the basketball and golf events and kept saying he wanted to do the bridge tour but he never did!

BINGO.... GOLF. My husband is a golf addict!! What type of golf events on a 4 day cruise??

 

[DepCor0311]

I will have to admit that, as a man, when I was first offered to spend a vacation at WDW and on the DCL, I had my reservations. However the scope of the parks and the service on the ships literally blew me away, and I have been a dedicated fan ever since. It sounds like a cliche, but there is literally something for everyone. Disney makes sure of that. Sometimes they even poke fun at themselves so the "non-believers" in the crowd get a chuckle. It is almost a sure bet that your husband will find something that he likes.

 

[ivanova]

Ok, hard as this might be to believe, my hubby is thoroughly burned out on just about anything Disney ... never wants to go back to WDW, and maybe goes to DLR three or four times a year ... with that said, he can't get enough of the Disney cruises!!

I thought our 4 night cruise last November would be our only DCL cruise ever ... so I didn't rebook while we were onboard (big big big mistake) ... well, guess what? We're doing another 4 night this November, a 14 night next August, and oh yeah, he's trying to figure out when we can do a 7 day western!!!

 

[CM_Mom]

Sometimes I think my DH enjoyed the cruise more than I did since he wasn't trying to do as much. DD was busy showing me her world and DH just enjoyed the relaxation and "no worries". I think one thing he really enjoyed is that I never asked him what he wanted for dinner or what he wanted to do for entertainment that night! We did the main shows and followed the normal dining rotation. He's also an early riser so he enjoyed being able to go up on deck and get breakfast whether I was up or not..(not is the correct word when it came to early for me)

He enjoyed not having to "entertain" anyone. We were on the 7 day cruise. After you experience the food and the service, you'll understand why we all say it's worth it.

FYI, check out http://www.dcltribute.com/navigators/ and click on the cruise length that you're planning to see what activities are listed.

If he's a frugal person, he won't want to pay adult fare for a 5 year old which is what would happen if just you and your daughter go. The first two people in a stateroom pay adult fare regardless of age so you probably won't really save much money if he doesn't go with you.

 

[staceymerrill]

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/disneycruiseline/requestmedia/requestmediaindex?id=RequestMedia If you haven't already ,order the free DCL DVD to get a look for yourselves to see what the ship looks like.!You will have a "magic"al cruise!!

 

[tkd lisa]

As far as golf, it's just a putting/chipping contest in the atrium. No big time golf stuff. My DH really enjoyed the CC fishing excursion. He was slightly less thrilled with parasailing (said it was fun for 5 minutes, boring for the last 10?). I fully agree that there's something for everyone. If you look at the trip report board, several have been written by guys and could give you a guy's perspective. I particularly liked the one by the guy with the big rockfish in his signature (user name is something like jgalecpa) which was written about a holiday sailing this year.

If anyone is concerned about the cruise, I highly recommend that you read the trip reports. They'll give you a good overall sense of how the cruise will go, and what people thought in general.

Enjoy!

 

[traycie2201]

I convinced my DH with food all day long, no nagging about housework , no cooking / dishes, waited on hand and foot for a week, not having to be dragged round the shops every day etc he didn't take much convincing cause i was booking it anyway
but if you read some example navigators you'll see there is plenty to do.
I think he'll be pleasantly suprised at the not having to look at mickey , i understand they have planned photo opps / autograph ops and then they are generally popping in to kids clubs and at character breakfast.

 

[herrbeeb]

woowoo, your dh sounds justlike mine. in fact, he will be complaining about the cost up until the time we board. this will be our 4th cruise.

in addition to the many adult activity choices, tom enjoys seeing us have fun and we really have ALOT of fun. he also loves eating dinner together and the shore excursions.

our first cruise was a land/sea, last year was 7 day western. my children are older and are totally occupied with new friends and activities so tom and i have plenty of time to spend together. the trip is relaxing because we are not entertaining the children.

so despite the cost we return to disney. we have considered the alternatives and even though we would save money we opt for disney.

 

[mrsltg]

For my DH a cruise means a chaise lounge and as much corona as he wants. That goes for any cruise line. Maybe this approach will help sell the idea!

Erin

 

[little_susan]

When do you plan to take the cruise if you go? Just hoping you can let me know how it went if you go before us...

My DH and I are in the same situation kinda. I already cancelled one in 2003 because of financial considerations (in the middle of building a house) so I had to concede but now we(I actually) have one booked for May 2005 so we have plenty of time to save. DD will be 5 and DS 8 by then. Every trip(think cheap road trip) we have ever taken, while not complete disasters, end up being worse than work and I resent having to make all the decisions about where to eat, go, etc and then DH has to 'police' the children and I think we just both end up resenting our situations. That's why I'm hoping this will take the pressure off, he can get away from 'us' or be with 'us' as much as he wants. I'm hoping we'll be able to split up more and they can do 'boy' stuff and we can do 'girl' stuff (I'm not really counting on kids going to clubs, if they do - what a pleasant surprise!). When you are on a road trip, you tend to all stay together all the time. Anyway, I think our DH's have different reasons for not wanting to go, but we still end up with the same result - hoping DH actually has a good time for all that money!
BTW, I did just get the DVD planner and DH did watch it with me and he is a big auto, motorcycle anything that has an engine freak and the 'Making of the Magic' really impressed him and I heard him telling DS about how big the ship was going to be later so you just never know what will get them excited about it - but I think giving DH the independence he hasn't had on other trips will be the kicker (sounds like I'm talking about my teenager, doesn't it? Oh well, some never really grow up!)
Sorry so long but this has been on my mind for a couple of years now! Keep us posted!

 

[WooWoo]

Thanks for the advice and replies!!! There are enough posts here to give my husband a better idea of what it might be like so I will send him here tonight. Keep the advice and thoughts coming though. It is great to read about everyone's experiences!

little_susan.... if we go it will be the Jan 4, 2005 cruise so I will definitely keep you posted.

I have ordered the DVD and I hope we can get it sooner than the normal 3-4 week shipping time!

P.S. Herrbeeb you had me literally crying I was laughing so hard ----- loved the description about your husband still complaining about the cost even as he stops on board!! Priceless!!!

 

[Greysword]

He will enjoy watching your kids get excited if nothing else.

If he wants to save $$, you can do the personal walking tour of Nassau instead of a paid excursion. That should save some money, and he will probably enjoy the history of the place (and the pirate museum sounds fun!!). That is for the 4 or 3 day, of course. If you do the 7-day, there are golf outings on St Thomas. I think Castaway Cay has a jet ski excursion, if he is a motorhead.

 

[CAMICKEY]

Peace, relaxation, lounging at the adult pool while your DD and/or DS in the kids club making friends and having fun, the opportunity to visit foreign ports of call and go on excursions, the ability to sit out on your verandah with a drink watching an island go by, playing Bingo, having the ability to see live entertainment nightly, ability to try several new meals, ability to play Bingo, ability to just do nothing and the ability to join the Verandah Club if one so desires. If there is not anything he likes above, then I can not convince him. I wish you luck in your endeavors. - Mike

 

[little_susan]

So that's what DH is - a motorhead! Thanks for the new term... I'll be applying it liberally!

 

[Jillie]

We went on our first cruise (a 7 night Eastern) in 2002. My husband really did not want to go but knew that i really wanted to as did our 2 dd's. He reluctantly went along with it. I knew he would enjoy it as we went with 2 other families who are our closest friends. The first at sea day we were in the adult pool, sipping on a tropical drink and he looked over at me and said, "This is the BEST vacation i have ever been on!"

We went on our 2nd cruise the following year and will be back again on the Magic in April 2005! Good luck!

 

[erikthewise]

I WISH we could get a 4-day Wonder cruise plus airfare for $2K!
Of course there's 4 of us, not three, but even still I think you got a good deal.

Of course you haven't added in transfers, insurance, tips or shopping yet, have you?

Don't.

 

[dclwdwlover]

I have always been a BIG WDW fan & had cruised a few times when I suggested to my husband (then fiance') that we go on our first Disney Cruise for our honeymoon. Although he agreed that it sounded 'fun', he didn't seem to have the 'enthusiasm' that I had anticipating the cruise, other than the expected excitement of our honeymoon & getting away together. Nothing 'Disney-related', though.

Boy, did that change after our first DCL cruise!!!

NOW, he suggests the cruise himself, he says that he ONLY wants to cruise DCL, and, it is one of the MAIN factors in relocating to outside the Orlando area shortly. We were looking at many states & areas & when we decided on FL, he was the first to suggest to be near enough to the port to cruise more often!

THIS is what can happen to a man after a DCL experience!!!