Melanore82

We are literally all over the map! NY, VA, CA, IL and FL. We will most likely travel out of Florida. I know I am being impulsive dismissing Disney, it just left a really sour taste in my mouth. Probably because even though there are only a couple trouble-makers, I just feel like others should step-up and defend the "victims." It's silly, I know. Obviously, if DCL turns out to be the only line that meets our needs, we'd book it.

Good advice about the suites, but since we are paying for everyone, I guarantee no one is getting a suite! Plain old balconies for everyone.

Can I ask some specific questions?

Would like to know if the childrens' programs allow you to drop off the kids and leave them? Can the kids stay together or are they broken up by age? The kids who are definitely going will be 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 10 and 12. My brother has a 1 year old who will probably stay with her other grandparents.

I like that it is not formal. Are there sports onboard? Movies? Shows? Adult-only entertainment? Can you get a babysitter at night? Can you bring alcohol onboard?

Shmoo, you were the first person to respond to my post on DCL and gave me great advice. You were definitely not one of the people I was talking about! I am just really laid back and have no tolerance for people giving snarky, sarcastic, obnoxious responses to others who are just trying to help, or get help. I think people must get pushed around in real life so they hide behind the anonymity of the internet to take it out on strangers. I'm not saying I would never travel on Disney, but right now I am not into it.

There will be 7 children with us. Their ages at the time we go will be 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 10 and 12. The adults in the group range in age from late 30's to mid-70's. There is a possibility there will be an 8th child who will be 1 1/2, but my brother thinks his in-laws will watch her when we go.

Some of the kids have dietary restrictions. No gluten. Others are very picky eaters, namely two of mine! Pasta, chicken nuggets and pizza, that's about it!

None of us are really lay out by the pool all day or go to the beach for the whole day kind of people. Not that I don't see how people enjoy doing that, but I get too bored. From what you guys are saying it sounds like HAL may be geared more towards adults. Is that correct?

I get that my original post was pretty general. Here are some more specific questions:

Does it have sports onboard? Grown-up entertainment? Are the pools very crowded? How late does the childrens' programs go til? Do you have a set dinner time? Can you eat in any restaurant? Are there shows onboard? Are the excursions worth paying for? Is there a casino, not that any of is will us it? Is there smoking in the cabins, and if yes, do they smell like stale smoke?

That's all I can think of right now.

Thanks!

I actually posted this on HAL, but figured I should post it here too.

My husband surprised me with a cruise for our 15 year anniversary. We are going with our children, my parents, in-laws and siblings with their families, 17 of us altogether.

We were going to go on a Disney cruise, but after spending the day reading through the posts in the Disney forum, I changed my mind. The way they respond to people who are just seeking information or giving advice, is absolutely nauseating. If the group there is indicative of the people on the Disney ships, then I have no interest in being a part of that. I actually like it that you guys here are so defensive and passionate about NCL. Makes me think it must be pretty special! Here you get angry at "outsiders," but over at DCL they're rude to each other.

After speaking to my husband, and looking at the boards here, we have narrowed it down to HAL, NCL and Royal Caribbean. We will probably travel at some time in November 2014 because that is when everyone can get away. I know absolutely nothing about cruising, but have read-up enough to know that each line has it's own style and activities.

Can those of you who have been on NCL, or the other lines I mentioned too, tell me if there is anything unique about each cruise line? For example, I have heard HAL is more formal and I know that NCL has this "freestyle" dining. Is this true? Any information you could give would be great.

Thanks for taking the time to read this!

Thank you all for your responses. We actually decided to go with a different cruise line, but I appreciate your advice. Maybe we will try Disney some other time.

So my husband surprised me with a cruise for our 15 year anniversary. We are going with our children, my parents, in-laws and siblings with their families, 17 of us altogether.

We were going to go on a Disney cruise, but after spending the day reading through the posts in the Disney forum, I changed my mind. The way they respond to people who are just seeking information or giving advice, is absolutely nauseating. If the group there is indicative of the people on the Disney ships, then I have no interest in being a part of that.

After speaking to my husband, and looking at the boards here, we have narrowed it down to HAL, NCL and Royal Caribbean. We will probably travel at some time in November 2014 because that is when everyone can get away. I know absolutely nothing about cruising, but have read-up enough to know that each line has it's own style and activities.

Can those of you who have been on HAL, or the other lines I mentioned too, tell me if there is anything unique about each cruise line? For example, I have heard HAL is more formal. Is this true? Any information you could give would be great.

Thanks for taking the time to read this!

Norovirus is killed by both >80% alcohol and chlorohexidine, both are commonly found in "Antibiotic" wipes and gels.

 

Why would a cruise line hand out a product that doesn't kill what they are trying to kill?

From what I was told by my child's pediatrician, alcohol-based wipes are ineffective against viruses. You need to use a specific type of wipe. Assuming that the ships use the correct wipes, most people do not use them effectively. You'd have to rub them on every crevice of your hands to kill everything. Plus, they kill the "good" bacteria on your skin, not just the bad. Better to wash with soap and hot water for at least 20 seconds.

Thanks for the heads-up. If there is something that's really important to me I will call the cruise line and make sure it is on the ship before paying in full for the cruise.

Thanks for the quick response.

I'm not worried about sitting at one large table because we would just put the kids down on one end of it. I just want to know if it's possible to sit like that or if they automatically break large parties up. If that's the case, I'd want to tell them to break us into a table of 10 and 7 if it were possible.

My sister will be glad they can accommodate her eating choices.

I'm not concerned about cost, but I am concerned about ease of getting to port. Is it just as easy to take private transportation as Disney transfer?

Hooray, hooray! My husband just surprised me! To celebrate our 15-yr anniversary, he is taking me, our kids, my sister and her family, my brother and his family and my parents and in-laws on a Disney cruise! The youngest is 3 1/2 and my parents and father-in-law are in their 70's, so we run the gambit when it comes to ages. Any suggestions which ship we should look at?

My sister only feeds her kids gluten-free, can DCL accomodate this?

We are all over the map so we'll probably meet in Orlando or Miami prior to boarding. Can Disney transport handle large parties (there will be 17 of us)?

Can we all eat together or would they break us up into smaller tables and just put us near each other? If that's how they do it, can we sit however we want...kids table and grown-up table?

I am so excited!