Getting "conned" to go on a Disney Cruise

[Yo Eleven]

Well one of our friends wants our family to go on a Disney cruise. They say it is a fantastic experience. I have declared myself for years that Disney is OFF LIMITS where I am concerned because there is no casino on the ship. I can respect that Disney doesn't want to cater to that crowd. Exactly why there are other lines out there for cruising and hence why we go on them. We do have a little one almost 3 years old and would absolutely love Mickey Mouse and company though. Call me selfish-yada yada yada, but I am thinking of my own sanity by even thinking about cruising Disney. I love casinos and not having one on this cruiseline concerns me and subjecting myself to Disney characters etc. YIKES!

 

Now the con job I speak of is that one of the other members of the family says will take me to Atlantis all day to shoot craps in the Bahamas. I need no less than six hours. Is this doable (how long do these ships dock in the Bahamas?) and will someone who hits the casino all hours of the night on a cruise ship in general be able to get through a Disney cruise?

 

I also love GREAT ship food. I just got off another cruiseline which I was not impressed with the food. Perhaps if this ship has great food I can make a roulette wheel out of the buffet and eat everything in sight. Tell me all you know about Disney cruises. Thanks. :D

 

Signed,

The Gambler

[PopFla]

As for the time frame in Nassau, the published itineraries show the ship arriving at Nassau at 9:30 am and departing at 7:00 pm; nine and a half hours at the dock.

 

Regarding your bigger concern - - please excuse me if I'm reading between the lines incorrectly.

 

It seems like having an onboard casino is a "make or break" issue for you. The biggest question you probably should be asking yourself is "Am I going to be miserable through this whole cruise because there's no casino?" Or, to the contrary, will you be able to put that concern aside and treat the cruise as a whole new type of experience for you and your family? In the long run, you are the only one who can answer those questions.

 

I wouldn't be too concerned about bumping into Mickey and his pals every time you turn a corner. Character appearances are usually of brief duration, and most of the time require a conscious effort on your part to go find them.

 

And my personal opinion - - the food is great! :)

[pppiglet]

Disney's food way better than RCCL! I think you'd love the ship even without a casino, but if you like to stay up all night, there's not a whole lot to do late at night on Disney.

[cruiserbryce]

Disney really does offer a cruise experience you cant get elsewhere...but you also pay out the nose to get it. The no casino thing wasnt huge for us since we arent big gamblers...the reason we dont go back is simply the cost...seeing mickey and his pals isnt worth the difference bewtween DCL and Princess/RC

[mom x4,grandma x4]

One idea may be if a casino is so important for you, why not do separate cruises. 3 days apart and then meet up and dometogether for the rest of the week. Then mom and child can have fun enjoying Mickey and friends while you have fun gambling, perhpas Canival since it leaves at the same port.;)

 

I know people who have done this and everyone was happy.

just something to think about.

[grand isle joe]

Sounds like your "friend" doesn't know you very well.

[Muushka]

You said

I also love GREAT ship food

and

I just got off another cruiseline which I was not impressed with the food.

 

Can you tell us which cruise line was not so good and which was great? That might help with an answer to the food question.

[time4u2go]

In our opinion, the food wasn't great. It was good, but not great. We found Carnival's food to be quite a bit better. Just our opinion.

[Yo Eleven]

Well I must say some really nice responses here. They are indeed helping. Greatly appreciate it.

 

As for where I didn't get the best food. I just got off the Liberty of the Seas. It was just "okay." Sigh. I remember the days when cruise food was AWESOME!

 

Can Disney provide this?

[calmpets]

Why don't you send your wife and daughter without you? If you truly can't be away from a casino for three days without being miserable, DCL will be a problem for you, as would a trip to Disney World. I'd hope you wouldn't want your three year old to miss out on the whole childhood/Mickey experience because of your addiction if you can avoid it, but then again I was a Disney kid so I view it as one of the really great parts of those years and would never want my kids to miss it.

[Muushka]

Well I must say some really nice responses here. They are indeed helping. Greatly appreciate it.

 

As for where I didn't get the best food. I just got off the Liberty of the Seas. It was just "okay." Sigh. I remember the days when cruise food was AWESOME!

 

Can Disney provide this?

 

Um, in my opinion, no. I have never cruised RCCL but it is my understanding that their food is on par with Disney. Maybe someone else could comment.

 

I have said many times that DCL is a great cruise line, but their food is not what I would consider awesome. Adequate, not awesome. I feel the same way about Celebrity, the other cruise line we sail with. My dream is to cruise with Crystal or Regent. But my pocketbook makes do with Celebrity (and the occasional DCL bargain cruise).

[Yo Eleven]

Why don't you send your wife and daughter without you? If you truly can't be away from a casino for three days without being miserable, DCL will be a problem for you, as would a trip to Disney World. I'd hope you wouldn't want your three year old to miss out on the whole childhood/Mickey experience because of your addiction if you can avoid it, but then again I was a Disney kid so I view it as one of the really great parts of those years and would never want my kids to miss it.

Addiction? Wow! Do you think I have an illness? I never thought of it that way.

 

Does Disney offer something similar to this?

 

Perhaps FRIENDS OF MICKEY :p

[calmpets]

Addiction? Wow! Do you think I have an illness? I never thought of it that way.

 

Does Disney offer something similar to this?

 

Perhaps FRIENDS OF MICKEY :p

 

Sorry, no Friends of Mickey - without the casino there is no need. :rolleyes: I didn't mean any offense - you know better than I whether you have an issue or not. Personally I go to the casino in my area frequently, but I can't imagine not being able to enjoy a three day cruise because it doesn't have a casino onboard - there are so many fun things to do in life in addition to gambling! Then again, I also can't imagine having my kids hang out on the other side of the over-21 rail so I can pull slots for a few hours, but every visit I make to Mohegan Sun proves that not everyone thinks like me.

[Momof 2 boys]

I have been on 13 cruises and I have to say that DCL has been the best. When it comes to being inundated by Disney characters...you are not. They only come out into the atrium at chosen times. They are not walking all over the ship. You dont see much of them at dinner either.

 

The ships are designed after the Queen Mary and are beautiful. The only Mickey stuff you really see are a few pictures here and their and hidden mickeys. The dining rooms are beautiful and their is only one that has Disney stuff in it.

 

The shows are geared after Disney but are more on the line of a Broadway show. They dont have Disney shows every night they also have other shows. They have an adult only pool and nightclub area. The kids programs are the best and you will be lucky to get your little one even out of them once they have made friends....the night will be yours....the says to it you want it to be.

 

You are right there is no casino. But you can miss that for 7 days cant ya? Spend time with your family and have a great family cruise. DH did not want to do a Disney cruise either. But I got him to and know that is all he wants to cruise. Our boys are 12 and 15 and they love this cruise line the best.

 

No doubt you will pay much more than the other ships, but the entertainment, food and lots of stuff are better. Not to mention free sodas and all non alcholic beverages...

 

It's not what you think it is.

[BrendaInToronto]

We thoroughly enjoyed our 4-night Disney Wonder cruise last November but we honestly didn't find the food any better than our 2 NCL cruises. It was definitely adequate but not "awesome" in our opinion.

[ducklite]

Um, in my opinion, no. I have never cruised RCCL but it is my understanding that their food is on par with Disney. Maybe someone else could comment.

 

I have said many times that DCL is a great cruise line, but their food is not what I would consider awesome. Adequate, not awesome. I feel the same way about Celebrity, the other cruise line we sail with. My dream is to cruise with Crystal or Regent. But my pocketbook makes do with Celebrity (and the occasional DCL bargain cruise).

 

We found the food on Disney to be far better than RCCL, especially at the buffets.

[Yo Eleven]

Sorry, no Friends of Mickey - without the casino there is no need. :rolleyes: I didn't mean any offense - you know better than I whether you have an issue or not. Personally I go to the casino in my area frequently, but I can't imagine not being able to enjoy a three day cruise because it doesn't have a casino onboard - there are so many fun things to do in life in addition to gambling! Then again, I also can't imagine having my kids hang out on the other side of the over-21 rail so I can pull slots for a few hours, but every visit I make to Mohegan Sun proves that not everyone thinks like me.

No offense taken especially on a bulletin board. Sick humor that's all. All opinions welcome. :D

[Yo Eleven]

We found the food on Disney to be far better than RCCL, especially at the buffets.

Can anyone do a comparison between the hamburgers RCCL offers you on Labadee and the food at Disney Cruise Line?

[Yo Eleven]

We thoroughly enjoyed our 4-night Disney Wonder cruise last November but we honestly didn't find the food any better than our 2 NCL cruises. It was definitely adequate but not "awesome" in our opinion.

I hear NCL food is the pits. This doesn't speak well of Disney. Looks like one in the STAY OFF DISNEY cruises column box. :eek:

[BrendaInToronto]

I hear NCL food is the pits. This doesn't speak well of Disney. Looks like one in the STAY OFF DISNEY cruises column box. :eek:

 

We actually enjoyed it, especially on the NCL Sun to Alaska in May. Food is very subjective though, as I'm sure you know. I didn't think there was anything wrong with the Disney food, not by a long shot, it just didn't "wow" me. We actually preferred the buffet food over the dining room meals.

[offtraveling]

We took our first cruise this past June. Loved it so much we re-booked for the 12 night european cruise next June and got my dad (76) and sister (34) to join us. They thought they would be board on the cruise in June. Boy were they wrong.

 

Disney is a little more than other cruises we looked into, but we like the family friendly atmosphere on DCL better than the "party boats." .

 

Listening to your child's excitment would make it all worth it.

 

Think about it.

 

Happy Sailing.

[ducklite]

Can anyone do a comparison between the hamburgers RCCL offers you on Labadee and the food at Disney Cruise Line?

 

We didn't eat on Labadee, there were flies all over the place. I'm hoping it was an isolated situation on the day we were there, I would have thought more people would complain about it.

[Yo Eleven]

We didn't eat on Labadee, there were flies all over the place.

The flies tasted better than the burgers.

[Muushka]

We actually enjoyed it, especially on the NCL Sun to Alaska in May. Food is very subjective though, as I'm sure you know. I didn't think there was anything wrong with the Disney food, not by a long shot, it just didn't "wow" me. We actually preferred the buffet food over the dining room meals.

 

I preferred the food at Goofy's to the dining room food! Love those wraps!

[Yo Eleven]

 

Listening to your child's excitment would make it all worth it.

 

Think about it.

 

Happy Sailing.

Point well taken.