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Disney Cruise
I'm interested in going on the Disney Cruise Line with kids 3 and 5 - Anyone Gone? Comments?
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I haven't been on a Disney Cruise - have heard and read very mixed reviews. Berlitz Cruise Guide absolutely hated the food. Their reviews are quite reliable and frank. Check it out. Also, check out reviews by people who've sailed on Disney at www.cruiseopinion.com <BR> <BR>Your children will probably love the Disney stuff, but you might get pretty tired of it after a captive week. <BR> <BR>You might want to consider Celebrity cruise lines - great food, decor, and they have a very good kids program that will give you lots of free time. Remember, that by the very nature of being Disney, the cruise will probably have a huge number of small children. Will that get on your nerves half way through the trip?
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<BR>Hi Betsy, <BR>I am a travel agent. I would not let anyone deter you from taking a Disney Cruise. Your entire family will enjoy it. The food is what you make of it. Everyone has different tastes. I found it average. Of course I find 90% of cruise line food average. <BR> <BR>Although my daughter is nine and was in a different age group than your children will be, I do not believe there is much difference in the quality of the programs. <BR> <BR>Since you have two young children, I do not believe you will be bothered by the "kid sounds." I am sure you can tune them out. <BR> <BR>There are many adult areas (including the beach day) where you can get away. There are also adult areas where you can eat without your children if you like. Most of the children tend to stay on the deck assigned to the children. Why should they want to stay with you? This area is more fun than their boring parents. They also tend to make many friends that they will wish to spend time with. <BR> <BR>The ship is just an extension of the Disney theme park. It is most fun and extremely creative. Trust me. <BR> <BR>Also, the park vacation comes before the ship vacation, therefore you have time to relax after your few days at the park which tends to be very hectic. <BR> <BR>There are so many things for adults to do while the children are in the program or later baby-sitting. You will not be bored unless you wish to be. Remember, on a cruise you can do what you want, when you want. <BR> <BR>I book many adults without children on this ship (most are Disney lovers, of course). I also, believe it or not, book many honemooners. I have received no serious negative comments. <BR> <BR>Go and enjoy. Paul
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Betsy: We have never been on the Disney ship but we have gone on the Premiers Big Red Boat 3 times. the disney has no casino. Big red boat has and it has a wonder kids program for all age groups. they never let the kids run free if they are in a group. they put on shows for the parents during the last night of the cruise. and you will find the cost less than Disney. you can also have a criter tuck a kid in(i had tweety tuck my wife in and she is still talking about it 3 yrs later) ship is also smaller and easier to get around. check it out. steve
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My wife and I went on the Disney Magic in June, and had a wonderful time. The kids will have a ball, and you will too. There is plenty for all ages to do, and while the Disney theme is everywhere, it's not overwhelming. The ship is incredible, and the rooms are extremely nice. We thought the food was excellent as well. I think if you go, you'll have the time of your life, and your kids will too. Good Luck! <BR>
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I just returned from the 7 day land/sea package. Needless to say I was very disappointed in Disney. We suffered much due to Hurricane Floyd which never arrived. The parks were closed for a day and a half. There were no busses running for most of that time which left everyone effectively stranded at the resort. We had to stand in line for 3+ hours for food in the food court. Some people were evacuated and ended up sleeping on the floor of a convention hall. After all that all we got was a little rain. We were constantly told that Disney would make it up to us when we got to the ship. When we finally got there the cruise staff on the ship professed ignorance. <BR> <BR>The ship itself is beautiful and the cabins were very comfortable. The food ranged from so-so to very good depending on where and what you ate. The service was definitely lacking. We were the last to leave the dining room each day because our waiters were so slow, and we missed the show on the first night because there were no seats left by the time we got there. That is not indicitave of the entire staff however. We ate lunch with different waiters and had no complaint about the service. <BR> <BR>The shows were very good and I'm sure your kids would love them. <BR> <BR>Our itinerary was changed due to damage from the hurricane. We ended up going to Nassau and Key West. We could not go to Castaway Cay because the pier was wiped out. I was told it won't be repaired until December or so. They said they were considering a temporary itinerary change, or using tenders at the island. <BR> <BR>For the adults, the spa is worth the whole cruise. My wife and I spent most of our time there and it made up (almost) for all the dissapointments. <BR> <BR>I found seven days of disney a bit much, but 3 or 4 days on the ship would be alright even though I won't be doing it anytime soon.
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Phil, I'm not really clear on why you were so dissapointed with Disney? If it was the hurricane situation there is absolutely nothing Disney or any other company in the world can do! I live on the east coast & cannot tell you how much of the summer/early fall we spend rearranging weekend and vacation plans and playing "hurry up and wait". Its the name of the game in states in the south/east from June - Nov. We have been evacuated out of hotels/campgrounds, canceled kayak trips, parasails, etc and usually over nothing. we all tape up windows & buy bottled water - usually for nothing. But when you are dealing with hurricanes you don't take chances. And I'm not sure what Disney could have done to "make it up"? To expect a refund or discount for weatehr conditions is not feasible.
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<BR>Dear Phil, <BR> <BR>Priley is correct. Hurricanes do crash everyone's vacation plans. <BR> <BR>I am a travel agent and have had customers who either missed their entire island vacations or had to ride out the storm in their destroyed hotel room. <BR> <BR>This is the chance you take when you travel during the hurricane season. You save quite a bit of money but your chances are about one in ten of hitting a hurricane. <BR> <BR>I explain this to all my customers. Your best bet to save money during THAT season and not have your itinerary deviated is to sail to the Western Carib. or even better the Southern Carib. <BR> <BR>I do feel sorry for you that your vacation was ruined. I would hope Disney would give you some type of credit for a future cruise. But, of course Disney is really some freak of nature and are tough to deal with. They have a good product, but they are high-almighty. <BR> <BR>Hope your next vacation will be free of problems. <BR> <BR>Paul
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Paul and Priley, <BR> <BR>I do not feel my vacation was ruined, nor am I upset that the hurricane caused disruptions. Certainly Disney cannot be held responsible for the wrath of Mother Nature. In fact, I found the whole experience to be exciting and quite comical. My dissapointment was with the way Disney handled the situation. We were promised things which were not delivered and no one seemed to care. Not a good way to conduct business for a company that relys so much on it's reputation. <BR> <BR>Walt is rolling in his grave
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<BR>Dear Phil, <BR> <BR>Yeah, I guess you are correct. Disney (The High Almighty) is still trying to play catch-up. They have many quirks that we travel agents do not like. <BR> <BR>At this time there is no history as to how Disney handles customer complaints. You are the first one I have heard about. <BR> <BR>I'm sure Walt wouldn't have sanctioned his company building cruise ships. I'm sure who ever had the bright idea never consulted with other established companies to see how to run a cruise line (or maybe they did and no one would talk to them). <BR> <BR>They are not running a profitable line. I am booking customers for January sailings and there are still quality staterooms available and the discount prices are still available. <BR> <BR>They are definitely not going to build any new ships. The Magic will be sailing 7 day cruises starting in the fall. I knew that would happen. I did think they would sail to some other port than Nassau. Another bad move. <BR> <BR>They do have a wonderful product, all they need is to get with the program. Or better yet, sell the line. <BR> <BR>I hope they do not sell it before February since I am sailing the Wonder in February. My daughter likes the Disney ships better than the park (they must be doing everything right). <BR> <BR>And Steve you are correct, the Big Red Boat is a wonderful ship, the best of all the other Premier ships. <BR>The prices are lower but you have to take into account their hotels are not on-site Disney and your luggage does not automatically appear in your stateroom from the hotel. <BR> <BR>Paul
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I took the 3-day land, 4-day cruise combo. I am anti-cruise, and I went only because my whole extended family was going. <BR> <BR>I though Disney did OK. They can't do anything about the things about cruises I didn't like (no choice of restaurants, huge crowds on the ship, tiny cabins), but they could have done worse. I am told that this cruise is one of the better ones, so that means I won't be cruising again soon. My kids loved it (8, 5 and 2), and when the kids are happy, everyone is happy. I particularly liked that the place is so kid friendly that I didn't have to worry constantly that they were about to have a tantrum or were making too much noise. <BR> <BR>My main gripes are that I thought the shows were awful, and even my kids were bored. The pool was unsupervised (my two-year old got away and another person pulled him off of the bottom of the pool). Parents must supervise, of course, but things were so crowded that if someone blocked your sightline for seconds, your kid could be a casualty very quickly. Also, there was no supervision at the Goofy pool (4 feet deep), and kids were doing cannonballs from the deck into the water, and someone could have been seriously injured. Also, my sister did a Disney-sponsored Bahamas excursion while we were there, and she said it was the worst day at the beach excursion off of a cruise ship she has ever done. The excursions were a disappointment.
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