Need some advice

[jcodespoti]

O.k Here it goes.

This March my wife and I will be married 10 years (man, does time fly!). I would like to take her on the 4 or 7 day cruise. Here are my questions.

1)If we took the 7 day cruise. Which would you do the eastern or the western cruise, and why?
2)Is March a decent time to cruise the carribean? (13-19)
3)Since we have no kids (except me), would a "Disney" cruise be "romantic" for us say compared to another cruise line? (i.e. will there be kids everywhere)
4)It seems Diseney prices are quite a bit higher than other cruise lines, which I don't mind paying, but is it really worth the value?


Any comments would be helpful as I am just trying to formulate an opinion here.


Joe in CT

 

[kamgen]

Joe,

My dh and I have cruised DCL 4 times (with two more this month) and we do not have kids! We love DCL and find that the adults only areas are wonderful. The pool is fabulous, dinner at Palo is totally romantic, as is the spa! Also the bar areas, theme parties and so on make for fun nights out!!!

As for March, I am nto sure. We have cruised in October and Jan and never had a problem either time!
As for West or East. We did the Western last year and loved it and are doing the Eastern this month. Maybe someone can help more specifically with that!

DCL is much more in terms of cost, but I think it is so worth it! You pay for what you get and with DCL you get high quality and wonderful service!!!!! I say go for it!!!

 

[Favorite Auntie]

I have gone twice with only adults and I would suggest that it is worth every dime. The Eastern is my favorite because of the extra day at sea. The Western has one more port - so more excursions. Depends what you are looking for.

 

[delo4]

We have gone three times without children and once with them. I found that Disney is unique in the fact that they have adult only areas, such as the pool, and clubs at night. We didn't notice the children very much at all. We were on the late seating and there were hardly any children in our dining rotation. I think you will enjoy the cruise.

 

[outahere]

OK.......... I'll throw my 2 cents worth in here........

I have never done the 7 day on DCL so I can't really help there. I have done the 7 day eastern (almost the same itinerary) on NCL. I wasn't all that impressed by St. Maarten. St. Thomas was interesting, with some pretty good prices in the shops.

March is a great time to be on a cruise. The weather is usually in the 80's and sunny.

There will definitely be a lot of kids. We didn't feel "overrun" by them on the Wonder (over 700 kids on board), but you can't help but notice them.

From what I saw, DCL's main attractions are the entertainment and the kid's program. The entertainment was excellent, if you like Disney. From what I've seen and heard, entertainment on the other cruise lines is good too. I think the other lines probably lean more toward Las Vegas or Broadway type shows. You probably already know this, but there are no casinos on the DCL ships.

Because of the price, I think I would probably go on Princess, or Holland America, if it was just me and DW.

Hope that helps..............

Happy Anniversary!!

Ed

 

[din]

We have kids and we went during spring break and we were told that they were 900 kids on board!!! But it does not seem like there were that many kids other than the movies and the shows. When our two DS went on thier own my DW and I had time together without kids running around.

Also if you are a disney nut like us, it is worth every dollar. Also I am not sure if this is true, DCL does not have casinos on board (space used for kids club) while other cruise have casinos so revenues are strictly from ticket sales and other amenities and that I was reading resulted in higher ticket prices.

 

[BeanoC]

Joe - We have done both the eastern and western, and we enjoy both very much. It would really be impossible for me to recommend one over the other, but I can tell you that you would not be disappointed with either! We are going on the 4 day Wonder cruise next week, and the eastern Magic cruise again in 2 weeks.

My wife and I love going to the piano bar and enjoying some quiet time together. It is a very romantic setting, and there's no kids around! And as Kamgen said, the spa and Palo are also wonderful adults-only spots!

We have sailed at the beginning of April a couple of times, and the weather was beautiful. I wouldn't hesitate to cruise in March. Heck, I wouldn't hesitate to cruise anytime!!

I have paid considerably more for Disney cruises than those we've taken on NCL. Worth it? You bet. Why do you think we're going back next week!

But you wanna know WHY... Ok.

1. Castaway Cay. No other cruise line has a private island experience that compares. It is a beautiful place!!

2. Accomodations. Disney's staterooms are larger than average, so you don't have to feel like your staying in a broom closet.

3. The dining. Sure, lots of cruise lines have outstandiing cuisine, and Disney is no exception. Plus, the dining room rotation experience is awesome, not to mention Palo, which is fantastic!!

4. One word - DISNEY. Have you ever been to a Disney theme park? Notice how spotless things are? Notice how friendly and helpful the employees ("Cast Members") are?? It's the same standard of Disney quality on their ships. They cater to their passengers and make it a great experience. And, for those of us who are Disney nuts, seeing Mickey Mouse and friends eveytime you turn around makes it that much more magical!!




'Beano'

 

[jcodespoti]

Thanks for the replys so far. My wife and I don't gamble (people, there is a reason why the developers can build billion dollar casino's
)
We have cruised on Royal caribbean before and it was good not oustanding but good, if anyone has cruised both can you compare the to for me?
Also, royal carribean has their private island as well, and I wasn't to impressed. What do you like about Castaway cay?
Were Dvc members so we love the disney quaility, so again I don't mind paying if we get the quality.
The Royal Carribean rooms were the size of a business card!!! and that kinda stunk (at least on Majesty of the seas)

Thanks again!!!


Joe in CT

 

[Melrosgirl]

Joe,

I just booked one of the huge megaships that RCCL has. DH and I also went over this same argument - Disney or RCCL or Princess. We get more for our money on RCCL or Princess compared to disney. I loved our Disney cruise on the Wonder back in March. We paid $2800 for 3 people in a category 5, for a 4 day cruise. (Granted, we booked five days before sailing.) We could have done a 7 day cruise on Princess for that much money, lol, but I had to do Disney. I loved it. Had a great time. Weather in March was beautiful especially compared to all the snow we had here in PA at the time! After discussing it with dh though, we agreed that too much Disney can be too much. He didn't like seein the characters every few feet and having to wait in line so many times so dd could see the character again, lol. I understood that. We are DVC members too, so obviously love Disney. There are many more adult oriented things to do on RCCL or Princess ships (rock wall, ice skating, roller blading, golf).

We decided to book on RCCL for next year. It was $200 more actually for the 7 day Western compared to Disney (quote from All seas for Disney). (We opted to get a junior suite this time though, so it's much larger than Disney's category 5 was.)

If you are looking for a lot to do, I would recommend Princess or RCCL.

RCCL doesn't have a private island. It's a private beach (other side of Haiti). Disney's Castaway Cay is a private island. I'm guessing there is no comparison as CC was wonderful. Princess does have a private island, but I haven't been on the island yet.

HTH !

 

[webray]

My hubby and I just got off the 7 day western. We went alone...kids are grown. We are mid 40's. We absolutely loved it.
We hardly saw any kids, unless we were walking through the kids areas/pools, etc. You can pretty much avoid them if you want to. There are plenty of adult only areas on the ship.

I found it to be very romantic...we got a cat 5 room on deck 7. This was our first cruise ever, and I won't every cruise without having the verandah to step out onto. It was amazing. Sunrises, sunsets and dolphins swimming along side the ship. All from our verandah.

As far as which one you can choose...well, I can only say this...another couple, our tablemates for dinner and just finished back to back 7 day eastern/western cruises. When we asked them which they liked better, they said the western, because the ports of call were more fun.

For us to choose the western...that is how we chose...it was because it was the ports we wanted to see. That is how we would choose any cruise we hope to do in the future.

Oh, and don't forget to take full advantage of the spa on the ship and castaway cay, and plan on eating at least one brunch/dinner in Palo.

Happy planning!