Can some one ‘sell’ the Disney cruise to me?

[Scaramouche]

We did it in 2016, out of the blue randomly added it into our holiday. I paid £998 for 2 adults, veranda stateroom and Disney transfers

We loved it, I missed a lot of it due to being unwell - mixture of seasickness (wasn’t prepared) and a cold. However what we did we loved, the places were lovely, food was great, service was incredible.

We are hoping to do another cruise for our honeymoon between Vancouver and Hawaii. We’re desperate to do Disney again but it looks like they won’t release Hawaii for 2021 so we’re looking at royal Caribbean. I hope the standards match Disney!

[holidayforever]

I have done at least 27 cruise’s and Disney is defo my most favourite , the food is the best we have had on all our cruises , great entertainment. We were just 2 adults .

[mertin]

We've done 3 adults & 1 child twice on the Dream and been fine! No-one can sell it to you, but I'll give you our experience... went on 3 day on the Dream to 'give it a try'. 3 days felt a bit rushed, but we did it again! . 8 years later and we've now done 6 and have number 7 booked Only ever done Disney, don't think we'd do another cruise line.

[Bad Pink Tink]

the question seem to me is
Do you want to cruise
or
Do you want a DISNEY cruise

if you just want to experience a traditional cruise and go to ports then I'm sure you can find a cruise line and port itinerary which will suit you

if you want a DISNEY experience, characters on the ship, Disney themed restaurants, Disney themed ship activities, Disney themed stateroom, etc etc, then you will find a way to pay for it, and will find a route and ports that interests you and you will enjoy the unique things like rotational dining, no casino, no alcohol package etc etc.

[dippiedawnie]

We have done 3 of the 4 ships now and just booked on the Fantasy next year. The cruise we have done the most is the 3 day Bahamas on the Dream. Done that 4 times now. We book early to get best price. There are 3 of us and son is 6ft and the cabins are big enough and not any smaller than other ships unless you upgrade. We save a little bit by booking restricted view, lower decks or aft cabins as don't suffer from motion sickness so being well aft or forward is fine. Our son loves the kids clubs. We just got off the Magic on the Baltic cruise and we never saw him. That is priceless to us. A very happy child is a very happy and relaxed mam and dad. We do the short cruises to break up a Florida holiday and give the feet a rest from the parks. We are not beach people or sunbathers but love Castaway but overall we love the ship and if we get off its not for long. We have met some amazing like minded people over the years who love Disney like us and enter into the spirit of the cruise with all the characters and theming which creates a great vibe. We just had some of the best food we have ever eaten anywhere in the world never mind on a cruise on the Magic this month. That hasn't always been the case though and we have had good and not so good experiences over the years. It's all personal preference though as others have said and if you aren't feeling the love it's a lot of money to spend.

[gismo1554]

So I have done 9 Disney cruises (10th in September) along with cruises on other lines. Disney is not a cruise if all you want is to drink and lay in the sun in my opinion. There are much better cruises that cater for this at a much lower cost and therefore I would go for one of these if that was the plan. A Disney cruise however has the added entertainment which I can say has always been better than anything I've found on other cruise lines (but this may be because I love Disney). Food wise I actually find most cruise lines have the same standard of food unless you pay for specialty restaurants. Service wise again I think Disney do a really good job comparable to most cruises of a similar star rating.

Also although all aboard is 4:30pm they actually start boarding at around 11am and most people are onboard by 1pm. Likewise 7am is the time they expect to clear customs but everyone is off around 9am. It might be an idea to head over to the cruise board and have a look at some of the info on there as it might help you decide on whether its a good option or not. As said though if you are cruising just to get a sun filled few cocktails then I think there are definitely cheaper options I would explore.

[papasmurf]

Originally Posted by gismo1554

So I have done 9 Disney cruises (10th in September) along with cruises on other lines. Disney is not a cruise if all you want is to drink and lay in the sun in my opinion. There are much better cruises that cater for this at a much lower cost and therefore I would go for one of these if that was the plan. A Disney cruise however has the added entertainment which I can say has always been better than anything I've found on other cruise lines (but this may be because I love Disney). Food wise I actually find most cruise lines have the same standard of food unless you pay for specialty restaurants. Service wise again I think Disney do a really good job comparable to most cruises of a similar star rating.

Also although all aboard is 4:30pm they actually start boarding at around 11am and most people are onboard by 1pm. Likewise 7am is the time they expect to clear customs but everyone is off around 9am. It might be an idea to head over to the cruise board and have a look at some of the info on there as it might help you decide on whether its a good option or not. As said though if you are cruising just to get a sun filled few cocktails then I think there are definitely cheaper options I would explore.

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Thanks for the info.

With two kids. The days of lounging about drinking all day are long gone. I’d just assumed it was all inclusive.

Can you share what extra costs I should expect once on board?

[Bad Pink Tink]

Disney Cruise are all inclusive to an extent. The extra costs that I have found out so far ahead of my first cruise

1. Alcohol, either from a bar, walking around server or during meals
2. Premium barista coffee at Cove Cafe and during meals
3. Bottles of water - free water available at drinks stations
4. Room service items which are factory sealed such as soda or candy, will have a number / price listed on the menu
5. Room service tips
6. Candy / popcorn at the Disney Theatre
7. All merchandise in the onboard shops
8. Bingo
9. Mixology and alcohol tasting classes
10. Spa treatments and Rainforest Pass
11. Adults only restaurants Palo and Remy
12. Stateroom gifts
13. Port excursions

The all inclusive part includes

• All meals in MDR restaurants, Cabanas, pool side Quick Service
• All soda and water from self service drinks station
• All tea / hot chocolate and none Barista coffee from drinks stations
• All soda and none bottled water during meals
• All tea and none Barista coffee during meals
• Snacks in Cove Bar and various other locations
• Room service food made onboard and tea / coffee / hot chocolate
• Character meet and greets
• Shows, entertainment and activities excluding Bingo

[Bats]

Like others have already said, it really depends on what you're looking for in a cruise as to what cruiseline is best for you.

How old are your children and are they going with you?
What stateroom are you looking at? DCL has some of the largest staterooms available, apparently larger than most other cruiselines (like for like categories). We use the room to get ready in and sleep in. It's ultimately a hotel room at sea so you don't need lots of space.

If you were pricing up a veranda room for 4 people, then look at 2 connecting inside rooms instead as very often it's a similar price with double the space.

But even if you don't want double space, look at cheaper rooms anyway - you will not be on the ship long enough to worry about verandas etc.

I would always recommend a 4 night cruise over a 3 night as it gives you a day at sea - valuable time to actually relax and explore the ship. But if you can only do 3 nights, then you have to make it work for you. It would be the same if you did a 3 night on Cunard, Celebrity or any other line though - 3 nights is a rush.

Is DCL worth it? Nobody can say yes or no to that for you. They can tell you it is or isn't worth it for them, but only you know you and you need to experience it before you can say yes or no to the worth.

For us, it is worth it (just about to embark on number 25 or 26 I think), but for my sister, it's not. She likes a drink and she chooses Celebrity as they offer free drinks packages.

If you're unhappy with the price, then no amount of people saying how great it is should change your mind. But if you find a price that you're happy with, then book and give it a go.
We find DCL good for 'inclusive things', so all soft drinks are free from a drinks station that is open 24/7. All of your food, including most things on room service menu (not packaged items). With 3 main restaurants that you rotate around, all with some form of entertainment, there's no worry about having to pay extra to eat somewhere else. Your dining team stay with you for all 3 nights so you would generally have a nice bond with them.

The drinks on DCL tend to be cheaper than other lines by all accounts with ice creams and quick service meals all free too.

All in all, we love it. We love the ships, the crew and the customer service. Do I like the cost, no, but it's worth it for me (currently)!

There is a cruiseline for everyone and a budget for everyone - if we all liked the same, it'd be awful!
Joa

[tinkerella123]

Bats this is so correct, every time I think it’s getting expensive then I price up other cruise lines and I know it won’t be the same, did try rc a few years ago and yes it was cheaper but the experience wasn’t, little things I didn’t like was the formal dining and not able to do your own laundry. Was the other. Main thing for us is the kids club, don’t think any other cruises can compare with Disney.