Disney cruises - what do you think?

[Anonymous]

I have never done a cruise before and have generally thought I wouldn't like them (too big, too impersonal, too crowded, we tend to like quirky smaller places etc). I also get easily seasick. So basically I have never really looked at cruises. A friend of mine who felt similarly just went on a Disney cruise, though, and she said she was surprised how much she liked it. She said that her kids had a great time, she liked the shore excursions, and felt like the food was good.

So now I'm thinking about it. I thought I would query DCUM. What's been your experience with Disney cruises, especially if you've been a bit of a cruise skeptic?

[Anonymous]

It's awesome,

[Anonymous]

So much fun! How old are your kids? There really is something for everyone to do on board. We went when our kids were 3, 5 and 8. Everyone had a blast.

[Anonymous]

We just went and really liked it. I doubt I'd do another Disney as I didn't think it was worth the price in less your kids like the Characters. Their private beach is great and I hate beaches. We didn't do their excursions as they were expensive for mass tours. We rented a car one day and did a private the other (which was the best ever). The food was good, great some days, just ok others. I didn't like the early and late seating with nothing in between but the cafeteria that was always crowded. The table next to us had screaming kids the entire time and many of the parents were focused on their meals vs. the kids. The waiters were often basically babysitting and cutting kids food/feeding them so it was a pain to wait for your food, which then got cold. They also kept changing our table which got annoying . We asked about it and they dismissed us. Ship was very clean, having the balcony was great and having room service you don't pay extra for was great. Children liked the kids club but only for an hour or two at a time. I was disappointed it was mostly electronic games with a basic activity. Food at kids club wasn't good. My kids refused to eat there and would call us. Wave phones were good once we figured them out. Stay in the middle of the boat. We were put in the back and you heard the engine and it was very bumpy. Crowds sucked. We were fine but it got annoying after a while. For your first cruise with kids, its worth it.

[Anonymous]

If you have kids, it's the best option by far. But the ship is kid focused, so I wouldn't go without kids. I had never been on a cruise before, and wasn't expecting to like it. Their private island is awesome, and my kid had a blast. Didn't really feel the motion of the ship.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have never done a cruise before and have generally thought I wouldn't like them (too big, too impersonal, too crowded, we tend to like quirky smaller places etc). I also get easily seasick. So basically I have never really looked at cruises. A friend of mine who felt similarly just went on a Disney cruise, though, and she said she was surprised how much she liked it. She said that her kids had a great time, she liked the shore excursions, and felt like the food was good.

So now I'm thinking about it. I thought I would query DCUM. What's been your experience with Disney cruises, especially if you've been a bit of a cruise skeptic?

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/96051.page#775371

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/483467.page#7224614

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/30/515079.page#7956062

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/15/584387.page#9554967

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/30/539140.page#8536927

There are other threads.

[Anonymous]

I also wouldn't consider myself a cruise person and was also surprised by how much we liked it. I'd definitely wait until your kids are at least 3 (and probably 4) so they can both use...and enjoy...the kids club. Mine would have stayed in their the entire cruise if we'd let her but she'd go to pre-K on Saturday if we let her -- YMMV.
The food is fine. Not fantastic. We've been on both their bigger and smaller ships and far prefer the smaller ones. We also tried to do excursions on our own since the Disney ones are crowded and expensive. But if your kid loves princesses/Disney, it's hard to beat the magic of running into characters in the hallway and having your kid get to meet them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So much fun! How old are your kids? There really is something for everyone to do on board. We went when our kids were 3, 5 and 8. Everyone had a blast.

My kids are 14, 12, and 8. The youngest seems in the age range, but not sure about the others. Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

Teens have a blast because it's a safe environment they can enjoy on their own. My oldest is 13, and he loved it. We all did. We've done two Disney cruises, and they are the best family vacations we've ever done.

Fwiw, we aren't a Disney family. Our kids didn't even know most of the characters the first time we cruised. Still had a blast.

[Anonymous]

I am like you. Never NEVER thought I'd be a cruising person. We're not even resort people. The seasickness was real but the meclizine (provided free in the med clinic) made a huge difference with no side effects. I was fine after that.

We skipped excursions on our short cruise and made our own way around the Bahamas. That was fun (and cheaper). The one thing I wish I did was download the local maps on Google maps ahead of time but I knew where I wanted to go and a couple different options for getting there after researchig at home. So just like touring another city on any other trip, but in a shorter time frame.

[Anonymous]

If you don't like crowds that much -- I suggest you avoid Disney cruises. Our rooms were great. Our staffperson was great. The rest of it was -- meh. Food at the evening restaurants -- not good. I'm not looking for 5 stars... I'm looking for freshly made and served (like you'd find at a casual restarant would be fine with me -- Unos, etc.). What we got was just not good. I think they plate about 300 servings and leave them under heat lamps for an hour or so... dried out, lacking sauce. Limited choices for kids (unless your kids eat steak and grilled salmon).

There is only one spot on the ship that makes chicken nuggets -- you would think this would be on every menu or buffet......since this is a kid-centric cruise. Take note... the only place with nuggets is the grill on the pool edge. Also, the only time milk is readily available is breakfast. If you want it for lunch or dinner, you will have to find a staff person and they will have to search high and low in the kitchen to find the milk. I find it really odd that there isn't a gigantic milk spigot in the lunch buffet area. It also was not on the menu at dinner, but they will get it for you.

The pools are T-I-N-Y in relation to the amount of people on the ship. Think about the size of your kitchen. maybe double it.... that is the size of the pool for about 2500 people. To me, it was kind of dangerous b/c there were too many people in the pool and more jumping in. The crowding in the kids club was dangerous in my opinion too. They never turn kids away apparently, so it was sheer madness in there. We decided it wasn't safe (my kids were about 7 and 9 at the time, so they weren't little, little.) No way would I have left smaller kids in there when it was so crowded.

Shows at night were good. The scavenger hunt on the ship was good. Movies were not as kid-friendly as I would have liked. Malificent was the big one when we went and I thought that it would be too scary for my kids at that time. That was mainly what was being played in the theater, so we never went to a movie. I would have expected more options that were not so scary.

We enjoyed biking around the island. Again -- CROWDS on the beach of the island. Hope you are ready to fight for some space.

For us, it was a lot of crowds. A lot of money. And it just wasn't worth it. We would have been a lot better off and enjoyed ourselves much more if we had just gone to a resort where we would have had more beach space, more pool space, fresher food, more options for restaurants, etc. It wasn't worth the hype at all.

[Anonymous]

I dislike cruises, but every single person I know who has gone on a Disney cruise has raved about it.

[Anonymous]

About to go on our second one. We love it. Tons of fun for kids and adults. My DH doesn't love crowds but is generally fine on a cruise. There is enough to do that people spread out. We plan our own excursions because that's one time you really start to feel like you're being herded around. It takes more planning but its often cheaper.

[Anonymous]

They will accommodate pretty much any requests for kids' foods. Because your waiter rotates with you to every restaurant, we usually tell them on the first night what our kids want to eat for the rest of the cruise, and it is ready when we arrive every night.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you don't like crowds that much -- I suggest you avoid Disney cruises. Our rooms were great. Our staffperson was great. The rest of it was -- meh. Food at the evening restaurants -- not good. I'm not looking for 5 stars... I'm looking for freshly made and served (like you'd find at a casual restarant would be fine with me -- Unos, etc.). What we got was just not good. I think they plate about 300 servings and leave them under heat lamps for an hour or so... dried out, lacking sauce. Limited choices for kids (unless your kids eat steak and grilled salmon).

There is only one spot on the ship that makes chicken nuggets -- you would think this would be on every menu or buffet......since this is a kid-centric cruise. Take note... the only place with nuggets is the grill on the pool edge. Also, the only time milk is readily available is breakfast. If you want it for lunch or dinner, you will have to find a staff person and they will have to search high and low in the kitchen to find the milk. I find it really odd that there isn't a gigantic milk spigot in the lunch buffet area. It also was not on the menu at dinner, but they will get it for you.

The pools are T-I-N-Y in relation to the amount of people on the ship. Think about the size of your kitchen. maybe double it.... that is the size of the pool for about 2500 people. To me, it was kind of dangerous b/c there were too many people in the pool and more jumping in. The crowding in the kids club was dangerous in my opinion too. They never turn kids away apparently, so it was sheer madness in there. We decided it wasn't safe (my kids were about 7 and 9 at the time, so they weren't little, little.) No way would I have left smaller kids in there when it was so crowded.

Shows at night were good. The scavenger hunt on the ship was good. Movies were not as kid-friendly as I would have liked. Malificent was the big one when we went and I thought that it would be too scary for my kids at that time. That was mainly what was being played in the theater, so we never went to a movie. I would have expected more options that were not so scary.

They will accommodate pretty much any requests for kids' foods. Because your waiter rotates with you to every restaurant, we usually tell them on the first night what our kids want to eat for the rest of the cruise, and it is ready when we arrive every night.

We enjoyed biking around the island. Again -- CROWDS on the beach of the island. Hope you are ready to fight for some space.

For us, it was a lot of crowds. A lot of money. And it just wasn't worth it. We would have been a lot better off and enjoyed ourselves much more if we had just gone to a resort where we would have had more beach space, more pool space, fresher food, more options for restaurants, etc. It wasn't worth the hype at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have never done a cruise before and have generally thought I wouldn't like them (too big, too impersonal, too crowded, we tend to like quirky smaller places etc). I also get easily seasick. So basically I have never really looked at cruises. A friend of mine who felt similarly just went on a Disney cruise, though, and she said she was surprised how much she liked it. She said that her kids had a great time, she liked the shore excursions, and felt like the food was good.

So now I'm thinking about it. I thought I would query DCUM. What's been your experience with Disney cruises, especially if you've been a bit of a cruise skeptic?

If you can swing it, do Concierge Level. Keeps you away from the crowds as much as possible.