My family are huge Disney Parks fans. We go to WDW annually, we love having things to do. We did take our first ever cruise last summer on Royal Carribean Quantum of the Seas to Alaska. While we loved Alaska my family was in agreement we didn't like the cruise itself. We did do 7 nights. Things we specifially didn't like was the lack of entertainment for our kids (10 and 8). We can only play trivia so many times. They did have the ping pong and basketball area but that gets crowded and bumper cars but that is limited time as well. We found ourselves bored on sea days. We also very much disliked the food. We felt the food was not good, especially the main dining food. We even skipped it when we could because it just wasn't good. We cruised with a family that has done Disney in the past and a family that has done Carnival, all first time to RCCL. I have been told to give cruising another shot due to the huge popularity of it. Many suggest we try DCL, however with the higher price for DCL we are hesitant to try given we did not enjoy the last one. Is it worth trying?
Thank you.
What is your style when you travel? Do you like to always be doing something, or do you also enjoy sitting on a beach, watching the ocean, swimming, reading, etc.? Are you mostly happy with the restaurants at WDW, or do you simply force yourself to eat, while you dream of the Michelin Star place you visited in the South of France? Do you like the entertainment at the parks?
There are so many factors. It seems that the people I know who have tried
Disney Cruise Line (DCL) and didn't like it, were usually the high-energy, high-adventure folks. Then, I think there are the love-everything-Disney folks, who's idea of a fantastic time is meeting every character they can, seeing Disney entertainment, and being as immersed in Disney as one could be, and they love DCL. Then, there are the "I want a relaxing vacation by the sea, where I don't have to do anything, the food is pretty good to even great sometimes, the environment is clean and enjoyable, the service is exceptional, and the product is consistent" folks, who tend to like DCL too. Sometimes, people fall into both of the later two groups.
I am on the "I want to relax without a care in the world on a clean ship while I enjoy being at sea" type and love DCL. I also love the style of their ships, lack of casino, fun adult areas in the evening, clean bathrooms, staterooms, etc. It just works for me. But my wife and I spend a lot of time sitting up top or on the verandah, just enjoying being at sea. The dining room food gets a bit boring to me, but is always edible and even enjoyable much of the time. It's almost never bad. But DCL is a happy place for me, where I know exactly what I am going to get, where I come back relaxed, and where I always have a good time.
I also enjoy the parks, but take them at a leisurely pace these days and enjoy the ambiance and food options as much as the rides. You really have to decide if cruising fits your style. If it does, there is a good chance DCL will be a hit. It is also a different experience in many ways than other lines.
However, instead of doing 3 or 4 days as others recommend, I think it takes a minimum of 7 to really unwind, get to know the ship, and not feel pushed to do everything each day. With 3 to 4, you are packing up as soon as you unpack, it seems. I feel like we wouldn't have fallen in love with it nearly as much if our first cruise hadn't been 7 days. It took my wife a couple just to feel at ease. Now she is hooked too.