Disney Cruise

[paul253]

My wife and I are thinking about taking a Disney Cruise next winter. She's a big Disney fan and I think a cruise could be fun. I am wondering if anyone here has ever been on a Disney cruise before. If we do go it'll likely be either the Bahamas cruise or the Caribbean cruise and we'll sail out of either Miami or Port Canaveral Florida. I'm just looking for feedback. Good idea? Bad idea? Tips? Advice? Anything would be helpful.

[TURBO]

It will be full of kids......if that seems like a vacation, go for it!

 

I know someone who went a couple years ago with their kids and they loved it! Disney is usually quality, so I wouldn't worry about that, my only concern is that you will be "kidded" to death for the duration of your cruise... If I am going on a cruise with my wife only, I'd want to be away from other people's snotty, bratty kids...

[bani1717]

I went on one as a kid. I think it was 3 nights and went to the Bahamas (Nassau and also a private Disney island I think). I remember there being organized kids programs where the adults could have time to themselves (and I remember the programs being lots of fun).

[KCBrewerfan34]

Best trip I've ever been on, did 4 days at the parks and 3 days on the cruise, top notch!

 

If you're going as a couple I might do a different cruise but still a great trip but its costly.

[Outlander]

Went a couple of years ago with niece and nephew. Disney is top notch and treats you like a king. You do have to take kids into consideration if going as a couple as they are everywhere. However, there was an adult only pool, adult shows at night and a fancier dinner that costs a little more but didn't have kids.

[JimH5]

We have not sailed on a Disney cruise, but last spring break, we sailed with our 9-year old daughter on a Nickelodeon cruise, aboard the Norwegian Epic. It sailed to the Western Caribbean with stops in Jamaica, and two in Mexico.

 

Truth be told, they bill it as a Nickelodeon cruise, but really, it's a Norwegian cruise and they have Nickelodeon as a sponsor for the kids program. It was fun for all of us. So much so that we're going on another one (East Caribbean) this coming spring.

[paul253]

my only concern is that you will be "kidded" to death for the duration of your cruise...

 

This is my biggest concern too. I was hoping since we are going in between winter break and spring break that perhaps there won't be as many kids there since I would hope there wouldn't be too many parents taking their kids out of school for 3-4 days for a cruise. Is that just wishful thinking on my part? I guess as long as there is adult only dining and an adult only pool that should be good enough.

 

My other big question. It looks like the two best options for us to sail out of either Miami or out of Port Canaveral. Has anyone sailed out of either of these places? Is one more convenient than the other? I'm not a big traveler and want to make things as easy as possible without having to find three different modes of transportation to finally make my way to where the cruise is.

 

Finally, for those that can remember. How was the food on the Disney Cruise?

 

Thanks for all the input. I think I'm going to try to talk her into maybe a Royal Caribbean cruise or something but as I said she LOVES Disney so I have a feeling it's going to be Disney.

[Outlander]

From what I remember the food was quite good and there seemed to be a buffet that always had the same food but was always available if you were hungry. I believe there was always free fountain drinks as well. As mentioned before Disney is top notch so quality isn't really an issue here.

[JimH5]

Miami is a great port. Very close to the airport. I think Port Canaveral is way up the coast. Not sure which airport would best serve those passengers.

 

We sailed out of Miami last spring. Very busy, but great. Taxi service is convenient, and they have a parking structure if you're driving.

[FVBrewerFan]

I've been on two DCL cruises. We've also been on RCCL, Norwegian, and Carnival. (Obviously, we're big cruisers.)

 

I would put Disney at the very top of the list. I love their ship. Big enough, yet not one of the mega ships that are out there these days. Huge ships means thousands of people fighting for a limited number of deck chairs. Not to mention you don't even feel like you're on a ship- which some peole like. Personally, I love that the Disney ships feel more like a classic oceanliner. Very clean, very classy. Service is also the best. Entire crew was more personable, friendly, helpful. Especially the waiting teams at dinner, simply fantastic. I also think their food is the best. You will go to their private island, which is fantastic.

 

As far as being swarmed by kids, oddly enough I didn't notice any more kids than other cruise lines. 90% of them are in childrens programs all day, even at night. Plus, there are adults only areas. Also, love Port Canaveral. Small port, so easy to get in and out of. You can fly to Orlando, or even Melbourne or Daytona.

 

If you haven't cruised before, cabin will seem very small, but DCL cabins are actually a little bigger than other cruise lines, and they have 2 bathrooms- which is really rare and comes in handy.

 

I only have 3 negatives. 1) No casino. Not a major issue for me, but for some it is. 2) Disney ships do "go to bed" earlier than other cruise lines. Gets real quiet after 10:00-11:00ish. Doesn't mean YOU have to turn in, but definitely not a late night party ship. (Which, again, is not a major issue for me.) 3) Cost. That's the biggest issue for me. We would do DCL more often, but the cost is up there for the 7 day cruises. If it's the shorter Bahamas cruises, those aren't bad if you shop around, buy at the right time, etc.

 

We are over-planners, so if you have any questions feel free to ask, happy to help. (As long as you're not a Cubs fan.) By the way, with such a glowing review you would think I'm a huge Disney fan, but I'm really not. My wife is, but she actually likes the ginormous ships a little more.

[paul253]

We just got back and I have to say we had a great time. I would absolutely do another Disney Cruise....in fact we are trying to decide when we can do another one. Just a couple of points:

 

1) I was afraid that we'd be overwhelmed by kids. While there were a lot of kids it only affected us negatively one time, and that was more because of the parents. The kids pools always looked fairly busy but the adult pool was never busy at all. I don't recall ever seeing more than 3 people in the pool at the same time. The hot tubs were small but there were 2 of them. They got a little crowded every once in a while but it wasn't bad at all.

2) The only time the children affected us in a bad was were during one the cruise's Broadway style shows. The shows themselves were very entertaining. Not too long but not too short (they lasted between 45 minutes and an hour). During the Toy Story Musical we got there a little late and had to sit in the back. We were surrounded by very loud, undisciplined children who kind of ruined the experience. At one point the little boy and little girl in the row in front of us began fighting over who got to hold the popcorn, and the girl started screaming. The parents did nothing. I don't even think they looked over. Seriously....you'd think when other people start asking your kids to be quiet you'd recognize that maybe you ought to act like parents for a second.

3) The room was decent sized. I've never been on a cruise before so don't have anything to compare it to but I thought there was plenty of room for the two of us. The shower was separate from the toilet which was nice but both areas were a little cramped. Overall though there was plenty of room for the two of us. We got a room with a balcony. Again, plenty of room for the two of us but probably couldn't fit much more than that.

4) The food was alright. I thought the breakfasts were really good. The dinner restaurants had that "fancy restaurant" feel to it which I'm not overly excited about but I know a lot of people like that. The portions were small but since it was included you could essentially order as many entrees, appetizers and desserts as you wanted. We were there for 4 nights so we tried all three restaurants once and skipped dinner one night and went with room service instead. Room service was ok. Again small portions but since it's included you could order as much as you wanted to. Next to pools there were a bunch of little snack stands where you could get things like burgers, hot dogs, chicken tenders, chicken sandwiches, ice cream, hot pretzels, etc. Very convenient. We did not try to restaurant that you had to pay extra for.

5) Entertainment wise there was a pretty good selection. We went to the featured show every night. I thought two of them were really good and the other two were decent. They had Bingo, which was expensive but fun. They were playing a few newer movies in a regular movie theater (Guardians of the Galaxy, Big Hero 6, etc). We didn't go there but it's something to do. There was a deck party with fireworks one night. Obviously during the day you're off the boat most of the day when the ship is in port.

6) Last but not least was the staff. I thought the staff did a VERY good job. Very polite. Very professional. Everyone from the wait staff to the housekeepers did an excellent job. There were staff members from all over the world. Sometimes I had a hard time understanding them but that's not their fault obviously.

 

Overall I had a great time. We made a few rookie mistakes like buying alcohol on the boat instead of bringing it aboard and not bringing certain things, like a bag for the beach, and having to buy it at the gift shop. Definitely will be a little more prepared next time. Price wise, again we didn't have anything to compare it to though I can imagine it was a little more expensive than the average cruise. There was plenty to do, plenty to eat, and it was a great experience. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone considering one of these cruises.

[BrewersSuperCollector]

Where dud you go and what did you do off the boat?

[paul253]

The first place we stopped was Disney's private island in the Bahamas. It's called Castaway Cay. There wasn't much to do there but there are three separate beach areas, one of which is restricted to 18 and over. So we sat on the beach for about 2 hours. Then they provided a BBQ for lunch....burgers hot dogs, chicken, salad, chips, cookies, etc. It was pretty good. Then we took a walk to an observation tower (which was a lot longer of a walk then we realized), sat one of the other beaches for awhile and headed back. All in all I think we had about 8 hours to be on the beach before we left.

 

The next stop was Nassau in the Bahamas. They had a shopping district right outside the port but we took a shuttle to the Atlantis resort. The park was fun but it was a really confusing setup. By the time we got settled in at the park it was 10:00am. At 11:15 we did a dolphin adventure type thing which was really cool but also really expensive. By the time that was over and we got back to the water park area is was about 12:15. We got lunch then went on a few water slides but had to leave by 2:30 so we could catch the shuttle back to the boat. Nassau doesn't seem like a place where you want to be wandering around outside of the resort or dock.

 

The last day we went to Key West. There was a lot of shopping. Lot of restaurants. A few historical sites. They did have a small beach there but we didn't go because we didn't know about it ahead of time. We were there about 8 hours or so before we had to be back on the boat.

 

It was nice because all three stops had different types of activities. It's not like we went to one island and sat on the beach then went to another island and sat on the beach and then went to another island and sat on the beach. Each stop gave you something new to do.