I knew this would happen...
 

:cry::cry:

My name is FindingMerida, and I'm a Disney Cruise Line Addict :blush:

It all started with one tiny 7 night Med cruise. Once in a lifetime we said. Then an unexpected bonus at work and we booked a 7 night Western Caribbean and now, it's too late. I'm hooked and all I can think about is what to book next.

Even the kids are saying they'd rather cruise than do WDW :omg:

But it's soooooo expensive :confused2 And as we are stuck with school holidays there's also not a huge amount of choice as far as itineraries go.

Why do new ships take so damn long to build?!?

Anyway, given all of this, there's no point at looking at other cruise lines, is there? Actually I already know there's not - the kids would spend the whole time pointing out all the reasons it's not as good as Disney.

So, if you are reading this and contemplating booking your first Disney Cruise, please think long and hard about whether you want to spend the rest of your holidays comparing them to DCL!

We did love our disney cruise however our favourite line is Royal Caribbean...the ships, the activities, the entertainment, we love everything about them. Disney is wonderful but very expensive. We converted to RC and never looked back!😊

Being tied to school holidays does make it harder :-( but I've found a Mexican Riviera out of San diego that is in our easter holidays so gone for that, was cheaper than Med or Caribbean.

I don’t think Disney is worth the premium u nless you have tiny children.
My cruising friends who retired to a spot to make their three or four cruises a year habit easier share this opinion (they are also WDW nuts and AP holders who usually stay several times a year at WDW ... it’s a good thing I love them or I’d hate them ). They an afford DCL with ease but other than when taking the littlest grandkids (below 7) find NCL and Celebrity far better both in value and facilities.
I wouldn’t write off other cruise companies quite so readily. You could have a few days at WDW and a NCL or Celebrity cruise for the same money as just a shorter Disney cruise .

Don’t knock what you haven’t tried , you’ll be pleasantly surprised ... and if the kids don’t like it ... leave them at home lol (seriously if they are old enough to be that specific about what company they cruise with you’ll probably find they prefer the other cruise companies as they are even better catered for)

I disagree, we have done Royal, NCL and Disney and even now DS is an adult and DH and I are embarking on couples holidays we would still choose Disney even with the higher tag. However we also like to go to places we haven’t been to before which means mixing it up as Disney do not have a massive choice of itineraries. We are sailing RCL next year but really want to do Alaska in 2022 and will hopefully go with DCL again.

Disney was my first cruise, and I will definitely come back to them. But a few months ago I did an RCI 7 day Med on the Oasis. And on reflection I deffo enjoyed it just as much as the Disney Wonder cruise I did. Some great activities on board, at times it felt a little more commercially driven than DCL. But honestly so much to do and see, and the entertainment was surprisingly good as well.

I go to WDW annually so think for now I'm getting my Disney fix there, and enjoying discovering more cruises through other lines that don't come with the financial hit that DCL brings. I already have two more cruises booked this year neither with DCL. But will deffo return to them. I just won't limit myself to just them

Just wanted to come back to this and thank you all for your perspectives!

I've actually cruised Carnival a couple of times (child free) and although it's a completely different experience to DCL (understatement!), I thoroughly enjoyed it! In fact, I'd say I enjoyed Half Moon Cay more than Castaway Cay :omg:

But, as a family I just can't see us choosing any other cruise line for the foreseeable future. It's the same with holidays - I price up various options but then think for just a bit more we can go to WDW ;)

The world is a big place, and my kids are growing up quickly so I'm taking my Disney fix while I can :D

This video might help with your last question :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YexKr7T4sk

The sheer amount of testing involved is mind-boggling, both of the ship itself and all the supporting IT systems.

On Iona in 2021. Can’t wait

We've just booked for October!