Disney Cruise? Thoughts, experiences

[phdmomma]

We have been the WDW several times. And are thinking about doing a Disney Cruise in the not too distant future. I don't know anyone personally who has been on one, and was just wondering if anyone has been on one, and if so, what did they think? We would take our kids (8 and 5, but more like 9 and 6 by the time we would go). 

[Wines Not Whines]

We went on a 4-night eastern Carribbean Disney Cruise in 2017. My son turned 7 during the cruise. We all had a good time, and my son loved the kids club. We went on the cruise with extended family (2 grandparents, my BIL/SIL, and their 2 kids). It was nice because we could do our own activities during the day, and still have breakfast and dinner together. I don’t think we’re “cruise people” (this was the only cruise we’ve ever taken), but we all had fun. I’d do it again if we wanted to travel with extended family again.

[stinkyfeet]

We've done 3 and will be doing our 4th in April. So clearly, we love them, I've been on cruises with other lines, probably 8 total but with kids we have only done Disney. I recommend if you go, book at least a 5 day. 3 days are just too short and rushed. Kids clubs are fantastic and the shows are not something to miss! The food is good, the adult only dining is fantastic. PM me with any specific questions and I'm sure I can help a bit.

[kittycatlove]

I've been on 3, two with my family and one as a girls only trip. I too love them. DS was 6 and 8 on the two cruises we did with family. He absolutely loves them. Though he is not a huge fan of the kids clubs, but will go for a couple hours so we were able to do the adult only brunch at Palo (it's fantastic) and a couple of adult only beverage tastings (so much fun!).

Our first cruise was a 4 night, which I think is enough to get your feet wet. 3 days is definitely too short. But I feel the longer the better.

If you have any specific questions feel free to reach out.

[TamiTaylor]

I can’t say enough good things about DCL. My only complaint is that I wished they departed full time out of Galveston.

[acr]

I went with my family (husband, 10 yo, & 2 yo) + my parents & older brother out of Galveston for a 4 night cruise to Cozumel just before Christmas. I'm not sure any of us would go back - it was fine, but not amazing for me. The dinner food in the restaurants was just so-so (the quick service stuff around the ship seemed better), so that was a bit of a bummer. Activities only sort of kept my kids occupied (neither was a big fan of their respective kids clubs)

Positives:
- Rooms were very comfy.
- Even with a full ship, it never felt crowded. This was really amazing to me.
- Service truly was excellent.
- My 10 yo enjoyed the freedom he got - he could roam the ship alone, check in and out of the kids club, grab a slice of pizza alone, watch movies by the pool, etc. Downside is that he felt sick every night from so much ice cream and pizza.
- Character meet & greets were pretty easy

[ilovelucyvv]

Yes do it! My kids first cruise they were 3 and 5. We are taking them again later this year at 5 and 7.

[estrellita]

We just did a 3 night Disney cruise to the Bahamas a couple weeks ago. Kids are 2 and 4. We went with my parents and sister. Absolutely loved it!

[gt7301b]

We have been on one and loved it. We are going back with some friends this spring. We are only doing a 3 day, so we plan to go down early and either go to the parks or just hang out at the pool for a day, we haven't finalized all of our plans yet.

[tennisgal]

We went on the Fantasy 7 day western Caribbean 2 summers ago when kids were 2.5 and 6.5. We went with my family (19 ppl total ranging in age from 2.5 to 70, 3 families with kids, 1 married couple with no kids, my single brother and my mom) I have never cruised before so I have nothing to compare it to. It was a challenge with the 2.5yo in regards to sleeping and that she couldn't go in the pools not being potty trained (they do have a splash pad for those still in diapers) You obviously wouldn't have that issue with the ages of your kids. We got off the ship at each port and at least someone from our group was on an excursion in each port. The private island was awesome. My 6.5yo didn't really spend too much time in the kids club, although there were plenty of activities that he seemed interested in. One thing to consider with your 9yo, they would still be in the 'littler kids club' that is ages 3-12 and I think the next club is like 11-14yo... so they might be bored by the kids club but not able to go to the tween club. I felt the cabins had plenty of room, although we didn't spend a ton of time in the room other than sleeping/napping/trying to get the 2.5yo to nap There was plenty of variety of activities on board for all the ages in my party.

[dcrunnergirl52]

I'm currently sitting in the Disney Wonder in St. Lucia on our family's 3rd Disney cruise. We love them so much. The food is great, rooms are spacious, my kids can't get enough of the kids club (I have had to drag my older kids out at 1130pm every night this week), etc. Happy to answer any questions.

[starryfish]

I have been on almost 20 cruises (i am platinum on Carnival). We went on our first Disney cruise in october and we were BLOWN away. My daughter was almost 3 and LOVED it soo much. It was pure MAGIC. We will be going again! definitely do 4 days minimum. Longer if you can swing it

[sent]

Jan 31, 2020 16:03:58 GMT -5 starryfish said:

I have been on almost 20 cruises (i am platinum on Carnival). We went on our first Disney cruise in october and we were BLOWN away. My daughter was almost 3 and LOVED it soo much. It was pure MAGIC. We will be going again! definitely do 4 days minimum. Longer if you can swing it

What did she love at that age? I'm hoping to plan a my family + all grandparents one right after DS turns 3.

[jaycee]

My good friend just got back and she just RAVES about it. Her biggest praises were the good food and the spacious rooms. She said every nook and cranny was sparkling clean and it was just magical and perfect for their family. She booked another one while on the cruise.

[starryfish]

Jan 31, 2020 17:10:16 GMT -5 sent said:

Jan 31, 2020 16:03:58 GMT -5 starryfish said:

I have been on almost 20 cruises (i am platinum on Carnival). We went on our first Disney cruise in october and we were BLOWN away. My daughter was almost 3 and LOVED it soo much. It was pure MAGIC. We will be going again! definitely do 4 days minimum. Longer if you can swing it

What did she love at that age? I'm hoping to plan a my family + all grandparents one right after DS turns 3.

My daughter absolutely loved meeting all the characters and princesses. She wasn’t scared and would walk up to them herself and smile for the camera. She thought it was so magical!!! Food was excellent!

[kershnic]

We did Alaska when my kids were 3 and NYC to Puerto Rico when they were 4. Highly recommend!

[sent]

Feb 3, 2020 9:34:48 GMT -5 kershnic said:

We did Alaska when my kids were 3 and NYC to Puerto Rico when they were 4. Highly recommend!

Which ship was NYC to Puerto Rico? Was it round trip or one way?

[kershnic]

Feb 3, 2020 11:04:57 GMT -5 sent said:

Feb 3, 2020 9:34:48 GMT -5 kershnic said:

We did Alaska when my kids were 3 and NYC to Puerto Rico when they were 4. Highly recommend!

Which ship was NYC to Puerto Rico? Was it round trip or one way?

. I think it was the Magic. It was a one way. They’ve done a similar itinerary the last few years, but it’s only one per year. Ours stopped at Tortola and St Kitts. My sisters family did the same cruise this year and it stopped somewhere else (St Martin maybe? I forget)

[miss1180]

we've been on 4, and have our 5th one booked for November. so obviously we're fans! LOL for us, especially with younger kids, you can't beat it for a vacation!! its all the disney fun, without schlepping around the parks HAHA My boys are 9 and 6...the last one we went on was this past summer to Alaska. it was amazing!!! We just love the great mix of adult time and family time- we can send the boys to the kid's club for a couple hours and get dinner alone at the adult only restaurant- or like my older son doesn't have the patience for the dinners in the main dining room. so he could get some pizza or something, and then go to the kid's club while we went to dinner in the main dining room. and just the service is awesome! on our first DCL cruise when my oldest had just turned 4, he was still too short to reach the sink in the bathroom. there happened to be a cast member in there cleaning, and before i could go over to help him, she went over the picked him up to help him wash his hands :-) they also will cut up the kids food for them, so you don't have to, they clean your room twice a day and the whole ship is sparkling clean!! As a SAHM who spends my days cleaning up after the other people in my house and helping my kids, its just an awesome break!!! :-)
Its also nice that the shows at night, are family friendly, and you can take the kids. on our NCL cruise the main show wasn't really one that kids could appreciate... And also the other stuff like the poolside entertainment is Disney trivia or Disney movies on the huge screen, NOT "hot legs" or belly flop contests LOL We also like that theres no casino on the ship.... no smokey smell, and no angry drunk people who just lost money in the slot machines HAHAHHA
i also like cruising in general, because it gives you a chance to visit different places every day without having to pack and unpack from different hotel rooms.
So all of that makes for an awesome family trip for us, and makes the extra cost of DCL worth it for us. BUT i will say that as my boys are getting older, I can see us doing a royal caribbean or NCL cruise again with them- with all of the extra stuff that they have on their ships like go karts and ice skating rinks and rock walls and things like that. They are SUPER active to i feel like in another couple of years, that kind of stuff will be more entertaining for them than the kid's clubs.... but, we'll see!!

[juliej]

DCL is our favorite way to travel. We're doing our sixth sailing this summer, a 9-night Med.

[BlondeSpiders]

I have a question that I hope is not weird.

My FI and I love all things Disney but don't have kids. We are regular cruisers and really appreciate the adults-only areas of cruise ships. Is there enough adults-only areas/activities to keep grownups happy?

[kittycatlove]

BlondeSpiders, I chose to celebrate my 50th birthday on a Disney cruise with a few of my friends (this was my 3rd disney cruise, first time adults only). For one of my friends it was her first time on a Disney cruise and she loved it, and thought the adults only areas were great.

I think there is plenty to do. We went to brunch at Palo, did beverage tastings, and adult only trivia. Spent time in a few of the bars/lounges. Time at the pool. We went to the movies(though not adult only). We even did a few character meet and greets

We spent the whole day at Castaway Cay (Disney's private island) on the adult only side and it was so peaceful.

Do it!

[was5]

miss1180, TamiTaylor, do you usually book through Disney or through a different website (Costco, Expedia, etc.) Also, have either of you been on a cruise with a Marvel day at sea? Do those cruises also have the traditional Disney characters on them? DD (12) and DS (6) love Marvel, but DS (also 6) doesn't like super heroes as much.

[Poeticxpassion]

Feb 19, 2020 16:14:03 GMT -5 was5 said:

miss1180 , TamiTaylor , do you usually book through Disney or through a different website (Costco, Expedia, etc.) Also, have either of you been on a cruise with a Marvel day at sea? Do those cruises also have the traditional Disney characters on them? DD (12) and DS (6) love Marvel, but DS (also 6) doesn't like super heroes as much.

Yes, the marvel cruises have traditional Disney characters.

TamiTaylor is a Disney travel agent so she could help you book!