WE have been on 2 Disney Cruises and loved them but we also like RC too. If someone would just fly me to Castaway Key, I would live there for a week.

I think the Disney shows are better, food and service too. I think the ships don't have as much to do but there are more things on the itinerary. What I don't like is the kids club are not by age groups. I love that about RC.

I also love that Disney doesn't have a casino in it because my husband would want to go there and I hate it.

I don't like Disney and I don't like cruises….(or, I thought I didn't had never been on a cruise) and I was BLOWN AWAY by the Disney Cruise when we went 2 years ago. 7 nights on the brand new ship (is it the fantasy? With the Aquaduck?). Amazed. Exceeded my every expectation. My kids were 3 5 and 5, went in June. Had a private cabana in Castway Cay, which I can't recommend enough, stayed on board one day on land, did the dolphin excursion which was okay, loved the day at the beach in the Mexico, the food shocked me with how fresh and healthy it was, lines were not an issue, had a private balcony and plenty of room with 5 of us in the same room/s, it was perfect. Our kids were at great ages as well. Palo was wonderful, as were the adult only pools when we wanted a break, and the kids loved the occasional time in the kids zones or whatever they were called. Shows were great. Bring on as much booze as you can as the one place that we felt bamboozled (pun intended ) was our bar bill! Yikes!

Have fun!

The two older ships are smaller and carry half the amount of people, but the pool decks are the same size...so less crowded. Ditto for Castaway Cay...the first beach was nearly empty when we were there. The shows are great and everything is kid friendly, so I didn't worry about the kids in the dining rooms or at shows. The service was excellent. Our servers went out of their way to accommodate our four kids...including delivering dinner and dessert to our cabin immediately one night when I had to split early with one of the kids.

It also takes 90 minutes to get off the boat for any excursion. Line up. File into theater. Listen to talk. Line up again. Disembark. Line up again.
Try that with small kids. Torture.
And so much time wasted

And we never, ever got lounge chairs together at the pool. Never.
I guess if you get up at 6 am you might.

Op here.

7 day cruise on the fantasy in March.
Insanely crowded.
Pools packed like sardines. Literally. No swimming possible - just standing.
Service in restaurants sooooo slow.
Huge lines for aqua duck.
Huge lines for character meet n greet.
Restaurants jam packed all the time.
Food mediocre.
It would have been fine if it was cheaper. But it's pricey.
We spent the same at very high end resorts.

We love WDW so we aren't haters.
We even enjoy the occasional Applebee's

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The previous posters grumping about Disney Cruise lines are just typical of the "Look at how cool and sophisticated I am. I would never go to Disney World, or dine at Applebee's. Even though Disney Cruise lines is universally praised, by families,hated it!" types. Forget about them and just enjoy yourself, you will have a great time.

I love Disney World. I do not enjoy Disney Cruises. They suck. Too crowded, not enough to do, too expensive for a cruise.

Don't drink the Kool-Aid, PP!

And that's exactly how I feel about Disney World. Please tell me what is so great about DW. Standing in long lines for rides, dragging kids around in heat, not being able to go to a restaurant unless you've reserved months in advance ... These are the things I hear about DW. And huge crowds. Tell me something that would make me want to go because I don't get it. At least the cruise has great restaurants (shrimp, steak, whatever you want), entertainment every night, a kids club that my kids love and actually gives me a break to go to spa or adults only pool or restaurant, and the same waiter in every restaurant for your table which helps service and consistency. Not seeing any of this at DW.

I don't go when it's crowded or hot. I don't stand in long lines. I don't have any difficulty getting reservations. I've had days when my kids were the only kids in line to see Phineas and Ferb and they had 20 minutes alone with those characters to play. I've had days when we walked on to the Haunted Mansion, got off and turned around and walked back on. I've never waited more than 10 minutes for a ride on Soarin' or the Star Wars ride or Space Mountain.

There is pretty good food in lots of places at WDW, especially the resorts. There is a lot of charming design and whimsy there. There are friendly people there. There are shows that the kids love, especially the "street" entertainment in Epcot. They have one of the best waterparks in the US. They have DisneyQuest, a multistory video game arcade, that my kids love. They have spectacular fireworks shows. There are great kids' activities at the Deluxe resorts (Animal Kingdom) We usually get the kids an in-room sitter or drop them off at a kids' club for an adults only meal once or twice while we are there.

The stuff that you like about the cruise? It's all availabe at WDW and it's better done and there's a LOT more of it.

The cruise was fine but overpriced and didn't port anywhere good. People RAVE about the service and the experience but I didn't find the service any better than a normal mid-tier cruise line like Princess or Norwegian. Thats not to say the service wasn't good, it was just par for cruise service. The food was below normal cruise fair though.

Anonymous wrote:We've done WDW multiple times, always stay at a deluxe resort, and our cost for a week is about $6,000 for room; food; park tickets; and airfare. We do go in low season because we hate both the humidity and the lines, and do character meals so we don't have to stand in lines for characters. When I looked into the cruise, it was definitely going to be more than that, even before any shore excursions, particularly because we needed a larger state room to accommodate our family. When I priced it out, it looked like Disneycruise was about 2x Carnival, and about 30-40% more than the other family friendly cruiselines. It just seemed to me that you could get a lot of the same advantages (kids clubs, kids pools, etc.) on most of the other family oriented cruise lines, but for a cheaper price.

I know people that have loved Disney cruises, and others that have found them overpriced, with very underwhelming food compared to similarly priced or cheaper cruise lines. Of course, food is not really Disney's strong suit.

Yes, other cruise lines are cheaper and come with norovirus. But seriously, I think if you did Disney cruise and then others, you'd be disappointed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The previous posters grumping about Disney Cruise lines are just typical of the "Look at how cool and sophisticated I am. I would never go to Disney World, or dine at Applebee's. Even though Disney Cruise lines is universally praised by families, I hated it!" types. Forget about them and just enjoy yourself, you will have a great time.

wrong.....been to the various parks with and without kids 15 or more times....have parents who now live 20 mi. from Magic Kingdom so we can go whenever we want, and I was making the point that I would gladly choose Applebees today rather than eat another meal on the Disney ship....fresh is always better than something sitting under a warming light for 2 hrs. I simple haven't eaten at Applebees in a long time and it is not my favorite type of restaurant....but still that kind of casual grill dining would be far better than what was offered on the ship (even though it was beautifully presented).

Everything I ate was fresh. Just cruised last month. I think you're making stuff up, seriously. If you don't like it, don't go. Fwiw I have friends who live near magic kingdom and they've gone ONCE because of all of the issues stated here. So enjoy that, and I'll enjoy the cruise. Different strokes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The previous posters grumping about Disney Cruise lines are just typical of the "Look at how cool and sophisticated I am. I would never go to Disney World, or dine at Applebee's. Even though Disney Cruise lines is universally praised, by families,hated it!" types. Forget about them and just enjoy yourself, you will have a great time.

I love Disney World. I do not enjoy Disney Cruises. They suck. Too crowded, not enough to do, too expensive for a cruise.

Don't drink the Kool-Aid, PP!

And that's exactly how I feel about Disney World. Please tell me what is so great about DW. Standing in long lines for rides, dragging kids around in heat, not being able to go to a restaurant unless you've reserved months in advance ... These are the things I hear about DW. And huge crowds. Tell me something that would make me want to go because I don't get it. At least the cruise has great restaurants (shrimp, steak, whatever you want), entertainment every night, a kids club that my kids love and actually gives me a break to go to spa or adults only pool or restaurant, and the same waiter in every restaurant for your table which helps service and consistency. Not seeing any of this at DW.

Anonymous wrote:We loved it. DD still raves about it, five years later.

Same here. Kids loved it and keep asking when we will go back.

We've done WDW multiple times, always stay at a deluxe resort, and our cost for a week is about $6,000 for room; food; park tickets; and airfare. We do go in low season because we hate both the humidity and the lines, and do character meals so we don't have to stand in lines for characters. When I looked into the cruise, it was definitely going to be more than that, even before any shore excursions, particularly because we needed a larger state room to accommodate our family. When I priced it out, it looked like Disneycruise was about 2x Carnival, and about 30-40% more than the other family friendly cruiselines. It just seemed to me that you could get a lot of the same advantages (kids clubs, kids pools, etc.) on most of the other family oriented cruise lines, but for a cheaper price.

I know people that have loved Disney cruises, and others that have found them overpriced, with very underwhelming food compared to similarly priced or cheaper cruise lines. Of course, food is not really Disney's strong suit.

Can't stand Disney World. Never been on a cruise before kids. Been on 5 Disney cruises, including 3, 4 and 7 day cruises, and will definitely go on more, even when we're empty nesters. Awesome experience for families in every respect, especially if your idea of going on a cruise doesn't involve staying boozed up and hitting the slots.

If you want to bring kids with you on a cruise, it's a great option, particularly if you want any kind of peace of mind while the kids are off doing their thing. One great thing about Disney is that they're so anal about their brand that they'll bend over backwards to make your trip pleasant.

To the PPs comparing the cost of the cruise to the cost of going to DW, are you kidding? Where do you stay when you go the parks? It's obviously not a single one of the premiere resort properties.

To the PPs who love the parks and complain about the food--again, are you kidding? The "regular" food at the Disney parks suck. The "regular" food on the Disney Cruise is quantum leaps ahead, at least for the actually seated meals, even on an off-day. Comparing that unfavorably with Applebee's is patently absurd.

You should also consider at least one dinner at one of the adult-only restaurants, like Palo or Remy. WELL worth the surcharge and subsequent tab.

The spa treatments are a little pricey. If you want to get a really neat take on the spa area for a really affordable price, talk to the spa front desk about the rainforest experience.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The previous posters grumping about Disney Cruise lines are just typical of the "Look at how cool and sophisticated I am. I would never go to Disney World, or dine at Applebee's. Even though Disney Cruise lines is universally praised by families, I hated it!" types. Forget about them and just enjoy yourself, you will have a great time.

I love Disney World. I do not enjoy Disney Cruises. They suck. Too crowded, not enough to do, too expensive for a cruise.

Don't drink the Kool-Aid, PP!

+1
Same here! I absolutely love Disney World. However, I'm not a fan of their cruises.

Anonymous wrote:This is somewhat worrisome, as we leave for a Disney cruise next month.

We are taking a Disney cruise next month too. It will be our 4th and my sister's first. We have loved our first 3 this will be our first long one so excited.