Yikes!!

[camiandmattmom]

I just book our first cruise ever on the Disney Dream in December. It is to celebrate my 50th. I am reading horrible reviews on cruisecritic. Did I make a mistake? Would RC be better for teenagers??? HELP.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I just book our first cruise ever on the Disney Dream in December. It is to celebrate my 50th. I am reading horrible reviews on cruisecritic. Did I make a mistake? Would RC be better for teenagers??? HELP.

Just my opinion, but a Dream cruise is not "horrible". Possibly the people who took that cruise were looking for something else. Also, in my experience, many "reviewers" over on that site really don't like Disney, and it reflects in their perception of how the cruise was.

We love Disney, and have cruised on it with teenagers. They also loved it.

 

[Justacruiser]

ok, so think a minute............ Kids and Disney

Kids of all ages love cruises. It is true there are different things to do on RC, but the same can be said for Disney. The Dream is a great ship with a lot of great things to do for the kids. Enjoy!

 

[dclpluto]

I just book our first cruise ever on the Disney Dream in December. It is to celebrate my 50th. I am reading horrible reviews on cruisecritic. Did I make a mistake? Would RC be better for teenagers??? HELP.

A dream cruise is too short is the only negative IMO.

 

[Justacruiser]

Agree 100% Too short, a 7-day is much better, if possible.

 

[steves100]

Guess Disney winning every cruise award this year means mistake....

 

[openwater]

I am sure we met some of those "reviewers" on our Seabourn cruise! People who sat with arms folded always staring at everybody having fun. We found them first in line at every meal setting, or show. When we finally talked they bragged non-stop about their 50 previous cruises. But somehow this cruise was their worst ever.

Funny, it was our first Seabourn cruise and our best ever. So who cares!

 

[mevelandry]

I have a hard time imagining how one could get bored on a 3 or 4 nights cruise since there is so much to do (with all the excursions, etc.) ...

 

[RedSox68]

Every review I read over there, I only take half of it for value. I'll read about the food and stateroom, but then they start getting into their personal opinions about every little thing that didn't meet their high standards and that's when I stop reading. I almost didn't take a Holland America cruise because of stuff people were saying about the ship and staff -- and we had a terrific time with no regrets. But when it comes to Disney, I don't think you can go wrong. So go and enjoy!

 

[DnA2010]

Dream would be too short for us
To answer your question, to me it depends on your teens- are they into the Disney bubble, or do you think they would enjoy the activities available on the RC ships (rock climbing, ice skating, pools, flow riders) ?

 

[bumbershoot]

My son is soon-ish to be a teen, and he prefers Royal. He wouldn't turn down another Disney cruise (nor would I), but Royal is more fun in his opinion. He was actually leaving before dessert in order to go to the kid's club last week on Freedom. (of course, he knew that he would get Ben&Jerry's later when he left the kid's club)

Since you're reading actual reviews, you can see exactly what it is people are saying. Are the things they are saying specific enough (and a generic "I don't like it" isn't anything worth freaking yourself out over) so you can figure out if YOU would be bothered by the things they are bothered by? Are you also reading reviews here? Are you reading trip reports? Those can get even more in depth than a review.

 

[diznymom]

I take ALL reviews w/ a grain of salt. What will work for your family??? My DS17 loves the Vibe (teens) and the Edge (tweens).

Like others have said, were the complaints about specific activities or just a general I don't that?

 

[TXDCLfan]

I just book our first cruise ever on the Disney Dream in December. It is to celebrate my 50th. I am reading horrible reviews on cruisecritic. Did I make a mistake? Would RC be better for teenagers??? HELP.

You should also look into the new NCL ships....tons of cool stuff for teens to do.

 

[Expatriat]

I am sure we met some of those "reviewers" on our Seabourn cruise! People who sat with arms folded always staring at everybody having fun. We found them first in line at every meal setting, or show. When we finally talked they bragged non-stop about their 50 previous cruises. But somehow this cruise was their worst ever.

Funny, it was our first Seabourn cruise and our best ever. So who cares!

Therein lies the foundation of people's opinions. I would probably deem my worst Disney cruise to be perfect had I not had so many near-perfect Disney cruises with which to compare it. I found flaws with that cruise because it did not live up to all my previous experiences on DCL. Without past personal experiences for comparison, and if one avoids reading the reviews of others, one is not likely to be disappointed with a cruise on a most reputable line.

My impression of the Dream was a beautiful ship filled with guests who seemed to be rushing around trying to do everything in a few days. Not possible! If you ignore "those people" and just relax and enjoy your cruise, you'll have a wonderful time. My personal preference for the Fantasy is mostly because I like to board, unpack, and settle in for the week. That's just how I like to vacation!

 

[Fuhnuh]

We are going on our third Dream Cruise in July (one Fantasy cruise) and DD15 has enjoyed all 4 quite a bit. This year at 15, I asked DD if she still wanted to go on a Disney cruise. She looked at me like I was crazy for asking. "Of course I would!" I'm sure it varies with teens, but she has really enjoyed the clubs. We haven't cruised other lines, so I don't have anything for comparison's sake, but barring out-of-the-ordinary events, I think most people are pretty happy with DCL cruises. Maybe the $$ take some of the sheen off it. I think if DD15 still wants to cruise if she's over 18, we'll have to rethink who we cruise with. What age are you're teens?

 

[Sytrace]

I would not put any stock in what folks over at Cruise Critic are saying. I am a member over there and read quite a bit but am sort of afraid to post anything....they are negative for the most part and quite snarky the rest of the time. Especially if you disagree with their thoughts on the most inane matters you can think of.
That being said, the information on this board is usually more helpful.

We have sailed the Dream 2x (soon to be 3rd for my DH's 50th birthday) and the Fantasy 5 times. We prefer the 7 night cruises, because by the time we unpack and settle in there are still 6 days left to have fun and relax. On a 4 night cruise, it seems like we are constantly packing and unpacking.
I have 13 and 14 year olds who insist that they prefer the Disney ships far more. They spend some time in the clubs, but for the most part, just kind of relax and do their own thing. I am trying to convince them to try RCL and NCL but so far no luck. And my soon to be 50 year old does not want to sail any line other than Disney...so....there you have it.

You will love the Disney cruising experience!

 

[Ofinn]

My kids 11 and 13 like DCL, but they haven't tried anything else. My kids are very social and like being in the teen club all day. There's not much for kids to do on DCL outside of the club activities. If they're more into rock wall, ice skating, ropes courses, wave riders and that sort of thing they would probably prefer Royal.

 

[Ofinn]

I would not put any stock in what folks over at Cruise Critic are saying. I am a member over there and read quite a bit but am sort of afraid to post anything....they are negative for the most part and quite snarky the rest of the time. Especially if you disagree with their thoughts on the most inane matters you can think of.
That being said, the information on this board is usually more helpful.

We have sailed the Dream 2x (soon to be 3rd for my DH's 50th birthday) and the Fantasy 5 times. We prefer the 7 night cruises, because by the time we unpack and settle in there are still 6 days left to have fun and relax. On a 4 night cruise, it seems like we are constantly packing and unpacking.
I have 13 and 14 year olds who insist that they prefer the Disney ships far more. They spend some time in the clubs, but for the most part, just kind of relax and do their own thing. I am trying to convince them to try RCL and NCL but so far no luck. And my soon to be 50 year old does not want to sail any line other than Disney...so....there you have it.

You will love the Disney cruising experience!

I don't know this board is a little biased towards Disney....don't you think? I find cruise critic to pretty unbiased. You will find good and bad reviews on every ship. There are way more positive reviews of the Dream on CC then negative. I'm not sure why OP would think otherwise. The approval rating is pretty high for all the DCL ships.

 

[TestingH2O]

In the OP's defense, the most recent reviews on CC have some low marks.

I definitely got worried before our first cruise when I saw some of the "never again" comments. The references to long lines especially had me on edge. We had a great time though, and I came back understanding what all the hype was about.

 

[TeaBee]

I just book our first cruise ever on the Disney Dream in December. It is to celebrate my 50th. I am reading horrible reviews on cruisecritic. Did I make a mistake? Would RC be better for teenagers??? HELP.

We sailed on the Dream last year with a 14 year old who loved every minute of it. In fact, we had to set some rules about having family time or we never would have seen her! We're not hard-core Disney people but absolutely enjoyed our cruise as a family and are planning on another longer DCL cruise this summer.