Should we try it?

[loislane]

Sorry if this is getting sideways from the OP's original question. We have taken two Disney cruises and enjoyed them - we did a Bahamas 4 nighter on the Dream and then a 7 night Western Caribbean on the Fantasy (with a Star Wars day at sea). The last one was prior to the pandemic but we are also going on a 5 night on the Magic this August.

We're not a family who relaxes well... we like to have a lot going on. My kid also hasn't really cared about meeting other kids previously - not sure if that will be different now as a teenager but we're pretty used to just doing things together when on vacation.

There are definitely pros and cons to both of our Alaska options (DCL and Princess). Right now I have them both booked for summer 2025 and I think we'll decide after we do our August 2024 DCL cruise. Either we'll be all in with DCL and excited to check another ship off the list (we'd only have the Triton class left if we also do the Wonder), or maybe we'll find that we're ready to try something new.

My husband and I are not relax on the beach/by the pool people so I hear you. What we like about cruises is that we can stay busy - and we can also work to try and relax more. LOL. It's good to have options. We are just finding and figuring out now what we like those "busy" options to be.

 

[loislane]

I haven't come across this yet but would love to see it!

Hope you get to see it. I laughed so hard I think I got an ab workout. The older couple was especially funny and people were seriously cheering for the guy any time they saw him for the rest of the cruise.

 

[WeaverRN10]

@MonaMN - don’t worry if this thread has gone off course. The OP is either not paying attention (she does have RN in her name, so she could be busy) or it was another “ask a question without realizing it would generate such a conversation.”

You seem to be actively making plans. Not just a what if.

I like dialogue; other people’s perspectives, experiences and ideas help in my world discovery. Perhaps the OP’s questions drew out some ideas for you without knowing it was happening.

I do appreciate the responses of people. I have been activley reading the responses without responding to them. I am listening to everyone's perseptive. I do not care if people generate other questions or ideas from my orginal post. I thought the idea was to learn something new and if this poster is in fact getting her questions answered then by all means do so.

If in fact the core of cruising is the same across all lines, then perhaps my family is not in the right season of our lives to enjoy them yet.

 

[MonaMN]

I do appreciate the responses of people. I have been activley reading the responses without responding to them. I am listening to everyone's perseptive. I do not care if people generate other questions or ideas from my orginal post. I thought the idea was to learn something new and if this poster is in fact getting her questions answered then by all means do so.

If in fact the core of cruising is the same across all lines, then perhaps my family is not in the right season of our lives to enjoy them yet.

I would recommend taking a look at the Personal Navigators of DCL cruises to see if you see offerings on the sea days that appeal to you. If you google "disney cruise personal navigator", you'll find resources.

On the Dream and Fantasy, we really enjoyed the Midship Detective game in addition to the activities listed. I think the newer ships may have something similar too.

My kid didn't spend time in the kids club but loved lots of the activities. It will be interesting for us to see how it goes now that she's 15 (she was 11 on our last cruise).

Best of luck to you as you work through your decisions!

 

[Hubie]

My advice would be to try DCL. Why, because as a former wilderness vacation only type (rock and mountain climbed for 35 years) I thought I'd hate cruising. The only reason I even went to the parks was because of my grandkids. Then in 2014, my DSIL and DD asked us if we'd go on a 4-day DCL cruise after our usual vacation with them to the parks. I was sure I'd hate it but went along with the plan. Well, my DW and I enjoyed it so much we immediately booked the 14-day WBPC cruise for the Spring of 2015. We've since been on a total of 10 cruises all with DCL. My only problem with any cruise, besides the expense, is that on the excursions you really don't have the time to immerse yourself in the place. Yes, as another poster replied, you do get to see a lot of different places but it's nowhere near the same experience of a total land vacation.

 

[sponica]

I do appreciate the responses of people. I have been activley reading the responses without responding to them. I am listening to everyone's perseptive. I do not care if people generate other questions or ideas from my orginal post. I thought the idea was to learn something new and if this poster is in fact getting her questions answered then by all means do so.

If in fact the core of cruising is the same across all lines, then perhaps my family is not in the right season of our lives to enjoy them yet.

We're go, go, go like you...but we're Disney people so we enjoy DCL. It also forces my husband to sloooooooooooooooooooow down, which he appreciates. And it's more cost contained than the parks. I load up my account with credit to spend to cover the expenses we add in (alcohol, photo package, BBB and/or Pirates League)

 

[auntlynne]

I do appreciate the responses of people. I have been activley reading the responses without responding to them. I am listening to everyone's perseptive. I do not care if people generate other questions or ideas from my orginal post. I thought the idea was to learn something new and if this poster is in fact getting her questions answered then by all means do so.

If in fact the core of cruising is the same across all lines, then perhaps my family is not in the right season of our lives to enjoy them yet.

I think you took my post as I intended it - not as a slight to you, but also not as a slight to Mona. Thank you.

Did you get anything useful out of the chatter to help with your decision? (No obligation to share your plans. But if you do cruise DCL, it would be fascinating to see what you thought.)

 

[DCLMP]

My family are huge Disney Parks fans. We go to WDW annually, we love having things to do. We did take our first ever cruise last summer on Royal Carribean Quantum of the Seas to Alaska. While we loved Alaska my family was in agreement we didn't like the cruise itself. We did do 7 nights. Things we specifially didn't like was the lack of entertainment for our kids (10 and 8). We can only play trivia so many times. They did have the ping pong and basketball area but that gets crowded and bumper cars but that is limited time as well. We found ourselves bored on sea days. We also very much disliked the food. We felt the food was not good, especially the main dining food. We even skipped it when we could because it just wasn't good. We cruised with a family that has done Disney in the past and a family that has done Carnival, all first time to RCCL. I have been told to give cruising another shot due to the huge popularity of it. Many suggest we try DCL, however with the higher price for DCL we are hesitant to try given we did not enjoy the last one. Is it worth trying?
Thank you.

I think if you were bored on sea days and didn't like the food then cruising is not for you. That's not going to change much on Disney. Most people that like cruising like to relax on sea days.

I know some people will like to convince you there's a lot to do on DCL and there is if you like playing trivia, towel folding and art classes. The sports deck on DCL isn't much. The Broadway shows are excellent, but that's only an hour out your day. The kids clubs are also a hit with most kids.

I like cruising because I don't mind the sea days, but I do get bored sometimes on sea days. I much prefer port intensive cruises. There is something about cruising that I really like, but it's certainly not for everyone. I don't know why I like cruising so much, but I can guarantee you it's not the activities I think they are pretty lame on every cruise line.

A Disney cruise is a big expensive if you can find one where the price doesn't give you heartburn and keep you up at night I would say give it a try. I certainly wouldn't drain the bank account if you think cruising isn't your cup to tea.

 

[DCLMP]

I do appreciate the responses of people. I have been activley reading the responses without responding to them. I am listening to everyone's perseptive. I do not care if people generate other questions or ideas from my orginal post. I thought the idea was to learn something new and if this poster is in fact getting her questions answered then by all means do so.

If in fact the core of cruising is the same across all lines, then perhaps my family is not in the right season of our lives to enjoy them yet.

I think your family is in the perfect season of their lives to enjoy them as far as age goes. We started cruising when my kids were 6 and 8 they are now 19 and 21. I don't know if we would have started cruising at today's prices. We've done 31 cruises...... Taken advantage of discounts, cruised off season, and cruised with just one kid recently.

I've done enough cruises and have enjoyed some other cruise lines to know what's worth it an what's not. I know what's a good price and what's not. I don't mind booking last minute when I see a good price.

I don't envy anyone trying decide if a Disney cruise is it worth it at these prices. I'm pretty sure we would have not made the same decision that we made 13 years ago. Good luck whatever you decide.

 

[LAS2AMS]

I think your family is in the perfect season of their lives to enjoy them as far as age goes. We started cruising when my kids were 6 and 8 they are now 19 and 21. I don't know if we would have started cruising at today's prices. We've done 31 cruises...... Taken advantage of discounts, cruised off season, and cruised with just one kid recently.

I've done enough cruises and have enjoyed some other cruise lines to know what's worth it an what's not. I know what's a good price and what's not. I don't mind booking last minute when I see a good price.

I don't envy anyone trying decide if a Disney cruise is it worth it at these prices. I'm pretty sure we would have not made the same decision that we made 13 years ago. Good luck whatever you decide.

But cruising isn't for everybody. Historically, it's an activity that appealed toward an older demographic and struggled to reach younger people. There's a reason why about half of all cruise passengers are first time cruisers -- many choose not to do it again. And it's not because of cost.

Young children typically enjoy cruising because it provides an intimate setting for them to spend time with mom and dad (as well as kiddy water parks, etc. that are very appealing). But older children... if I received a $1 in OBC for every bored teenage boy I see on any given cruise, it'd pay for gratuities and a drink package. I know many people on here will say their teenage son/ when their son was a teenager they loved it... but in my experiences, those are outliers. Most of the music and headlining entertainment is geared toward 50+ .... that includes DCL, although it isn't quite as bad.

 

[DCLMP]

But cruising isn't for everybody.

"There is something about cruising that I really like, but it's certainly not for everyone." Isn't that what I just said?