Love cruising and love Disney World - is Disney Cruise the next logical step?

[mrsmagoo1]

Hi all,

I am brand new to Disney Cruise Line but love cruising and love Disney World. I'm looking into my first cruise since becoming a parent. I've cruised NCL, RC, and Celebrity and love them all. I'd love your feedback if DCL would be right for us and if so, which cruises would be best suited for a family of 3 including a 3 year.

 

I plan to fully utilize the drop-off feature of the kids club. It seems all kids are grouped together and not split into smaller age groups?

 

We took him to Disney World twice this year and both trips were incredible for all of us. His absolute favorite thing is to meet characters. Which ship/itinerary might be a better fit for a family who prioritizes character meet and greets? Also I know this is subjective, but thoughts on paying the Disney premium compared to RC which is the other cruise I'm considering for this trip.

 

Anything to know how DCL differs to what I'm used to? I already know there is no drink package and no casino. What are drink prices like? Are there any character meals, besides with princesses? My sons absolute favorites are Mickey and the Fab 5 along with Toy Story.

 

Thanks for your help!

[Shmoo here]

2 hours ago, mrsmagoo1 said:

Hi all,

I am brand new to Disney Cruise Line but love cruising and love Disney World. I'm looking into my first cruise since becoming a parent. I've cruised NCL, RC, and Celebrity and love them all. I'd love your feedback if DCL would be right for us and if so, which cruises would be best suited for a family of 3 including a 3 year.

 

I plan to fully utilize the drop-off feature of the kids club. It seems all kids are grouped together and not split into smaller age groups?

 

We took him to Disney World twice this year and both trips were incredible for all of us. His absolute favorite thing is to meet characters. Which ship/itinerary might be a better fit for a family who prioritizes character meet and greets? Also I know this is subjective, but thoughts on paying the Disney premium compared to RC which is the other cruise I'm considering for this trip.

 

Anything to know how DCL differs to what I'm used to? I already know there is no drink package and no casino. What are drink prices like? Are there any character meals, besides with princesses? My sons absolute favorites are Mickey and the Fab 5 along with Toy Story.

 

Thanks for your help!

The kid's clubs are divided by ages (mostly).  

Nursery - under 3s, although untrained 3 year olds are allowed also.

Oceaneer's Club/Lab - ages 3 - 12

Edge - ages 11-14

Vibe - ages 13-17

 

A little clarification on Oceaneer's:  The Club and Lab used to be separate groups (3-7 & 8-12).  But the more vocal group wanting their kids to be together in the kids areas won and DCL merged the two several years ago. Now it's one big club, although there are "separate" areas with one having activities aimed more toward the younger group, and one aimed toward the older group.  But any child can participate in either side.

 

For the most onboard experiences, you'll probably want a cruise that has more sea days than port days.

 

Some cruises have a character breakfast, generally those at least 7 nights long with at least 2 sea days.  And, I believe, some of the themed cruises may have one.

 

Edited December 12, 2022 by Shmoo here

[jalves]

Good info above from @Shmoo here, as usual.

 

I'd just add that if you are Disney fans and cruise fans that yes, DCL will be a good choice for you.  Perhaps you could combine a 4-night sailing from Port Canaveral with a few days at WDW.

 

I wouldn't do anything shorter than 4-nights for your first Disney cruise (or any cruise now that I think about it).  Not sure you'd want to take a full week cruise though but it really depends on you and what your child is like.  

[mrsmagoo1]

14 hours ago, jalves said:

Not sure you'd want to take a full week cruise though but it really depends on you and what your child is like.  

Would you mind elaborating?

[mrsmagoo1]

16 hours ago, Shmoo here said:

A little clarification on Oceaneer's:  The Club and Lab used to be separate groups (3-7 & 8-12).  But the more vocal group wanting their kids to be together in the kids areas won and DCL merged the two several years ago. Now it's one big club, although there are "separate" areas with one having activities aimed more toward the younger group, and one aimed toward the older group.  But any child can participate in either side.

Thank you for clearing this up. My only worry is an excited 12 year old trampling my 3 year old.

[gometros]

18 hours ago, jalves said:

Good info above from @Shmoo here, as usual.

 

I'd just add that if you are Disney fans and cruise fans that yes, DCL will be a good choice for you.  Perhaps you could combine a 4-night sailing from Port Canaveral with a few days at WDW.

 

I wouldn't do anything shorter than 4-nights for your first Disney cruise (or any cruise now that I think about it).  Not sure you'd want to take a full week cruise though but it really depends on you and what your child is like.  

I would agree with you if this was their first cruise, but since they stated that the are experienced cruisers, a 7-day gives them more time to explore the ship and take advantage of all it has to offer (like the afore-mentioned character breakfast which is available on shorter cruises). It also gives them a chance to leave the kids in the club and have an adult only evening in one of the specialty restaurants.

[Nike4000]

I think it's fair to share the experience my neighbors had. They are avid Disney fans - every school break involved a trip to Disney World. Summers were spent visiting relatives in Florida to maximize time at the parks. Their house was Disney-fied for the holidays. Shoot, they lived in Texas but had annual passes to Disney World when the kids were little. They LOVE Disney - but absolutely abhorred their Disney cruise experience.  

 

We had been sharing how much we enjoyed our experiences on our Disney cruises and thought it would be a natural fit for them. They had cruised before and enjoyed it - seemed like they were the ideal family to enjoy a Disney cruise. Instead, they found the cruise to be too boring and felt like they were stuck on the ship. They felt trapped by the dinner experience, dining rooms were "meh,"  and they wanted more food options like in the parks. The kids hated the clubs and refused to go. They said it was their worst family vacation.

 

I'm definitely not trying to turn you off of doing a Disney cruise, I just want to share my neighbor's experience. I thought it would be their best family vacation & I still think anyone who likes Disney should try a cruise. They were the last people I told, "If you love Disney, you'll love going on a Disney cruise!"

 

Go on the Disney cruise, hopefully you love it (I'm guessing you will), but it's okay if you don't.

[jalves]

10 hours ago, mrsmagoo1 said:

Would you mind elaborating?

Sure.  For a first cruise it may be a good compromise between a week of WDW and an opportunity to "get your feet wet" on DCL. 

 

I'm a huge Disney fan.  When I retired, I actually moved to FL to be close to Disney.  I now live about 2 miles from the castle.  I've also sailed on DCL 18 times so far.  So, I think I've got a good perspective on both WDW and DCL.  I'm realistic enough to see that some folks don't care for cruising or base their preference on a different line.  So, when somebody asks about a specific cruise Iine I suggest the shorter cruise just so they can give it a fair trial. 

[mrsmagoo1]

17 hours ago, Nike4000 said:

I think it's fair to share the experience my neighbors had. They are avid Disney fans - every school break involved a trip to Disney World. Summers were spent visiting relatives in Florida to maximize time at the parks. Their house was Disney-fied for the holidays. Shoot, they lived in Texas but had annual passes to Disney World when the kids were little. They LOVE Disney - but absolutely abhorred their Disney cruise experience.  

 

We had been sharing how much we enjoyed our experiences on our Disney cruises and thought it would be a natural fit for them. They had cruised before and enjoyed it - seemed like they were the ideal family to enjoy a Disney cruise. Instead, they found the cruise to be too boring and felt like they were stuck on the ship. They felt trapped by the dinner experience, dining rooms were "meh,"  and they wanted more food options like in the parks. The kids hated the clubs and refused to go. They said it was their worst family vacation.

 

I'm definitely not trying to turn you off of doing a Disney cruise, I just want to share my neighbor's experience. I thought it would be their best family vacation & I still think anyone who likes Disney should try a cruise. They were the last people I told, "If you love Disney, you'll love going on a Disney cruise!"

 

Go on the Disney cruise, hopefully you love it (I'm guessing you will), but it's okay if you don't.

A great story and something to keep in mind, thank you!

[mrsmagoo1]

13 hours ago, jalves said:

Sure.  For a first cruise it may be a good compromise between a week of WDW and an opportunity to "get your feet wet" on DCL. 

 

I'm a huge Disney fan.  When I retired, I actually moved to FL to be close to Disney.  I now live about 2 miles from the castle.  I've also sailed on DCL 18 times so far.  So, I think I've got a good perspective on both WDW and DCL.  I'm realistic enough to see that some folks don't care for cruising or base their preference on a different line.  So, when somebody asks about a specific cruise Iine I suggest the shorter cruise just so they can give it a fair trial. 

That's a very good point, thank you!

[NEGeekymama]

On 12/13/2022 at 1:38 PM, Nike4000 said:

I think it's fair to share the experience my neighbors had. They are avid Disney fans - every school break involved a trip to Disney World. Summers were spent visiting relatives in Florida to maximize time at the parks. Their house was Disney-fied for the holidays. Shoot, they lived in Texas but had annual passes to Disney World when the kids were little. They LOVE Disney - but absolutely abhorred their Disney cruise experience.  

 

We had been sharing how much we enjoyed our experiences on our Disney cruises and thought it would be a natural fit for them. They had cruised before and enjoyed it - seemed like they were the ideal family to enjoy a Disney cruise. Instead, they found the cruise to be too boring and felt like they were stuck on the ship. They felt trapped by the dinner experience, dining rooms were "meh,"  and they wanted more food options like in the parks. The kids hated the clubs and refused to go. They said it was their worst family vacation.

 

I'm definitely not trying to turn you off of doing a Disney cruise, I just want to share my neighbor's experience. I thought it would be their best family vacation & I still think anyone who likes Disney should try a cruise. They were the last people I told, "If you love Disney, you'll love going on a Disney cruise!"

 

Go on the Disney cruise, hopefully you love it (I'm guessing you will), but it's okay if you don't.

 

Okay...there's a lot to take in here.

 

To start, what do they mean by "trapped"? Nobody is literally forced to eat in the main dining room on a Disney ship, or any ship for that matter. Most folks just choose to eat in the MDR each night on Disney because of the unique experience each one offers. That said, there was nothing stopping them from eating elsewhere.

 

As to "more food options like in the parks", they needed to check their expectations; it's a floating hotel out in the middle of the ocean with limited space. Not acres upon acres of park.

 

And the kids hating the clubs? Sounds like a "them" thing. We couldn't get our kid to leave the club when we went. 

[NEGeekymama]

We've cruised on Carnival (4 times), Royal (1 time, with another next year), and Disney (1 time, with another in February). If we could afford it, we would cruise Disney every single time.

 

If you have Disney+, and are able to sail fairly soon (As in January-March), I highly recommend checking out the Disney+ subscriber deal; 3rd and 4th guests in a cabin are FREE. This saved us over $2000 for our cruise. 

 

Pros:

While you're absolutely paying for it, the Disney experience cannot be beat. It's absolutely the best out there. I'm talking about our server feeding our (at the time) cranky toddler; both girls loved him so much that they wanted pictures with him on the last day (Kevin, you rock!)

 

The kids clubs are top notch. The 3-11 year old area has multiple themed rooms to choose from; not just one room like most cruise lines, and it takes up nearly 1/3 of an entire deck. We couldn't get our then 10 year old to leave.

 

Soda is free! You can even bring your own tumblers to fill up on the pool deck.

 

Disney also has the most liberal alcohol policy out there. In addition to being able to bring 2 bottles of wine or champagne per 21+, you also have the option of bringing 6 12oz cans of beer instead. And when/if you buy any alcohol in port, you get to keep it! It's not packaged and labeled and put away until the last night like other cruise lines.

 

The nightly shows are legit Broadway caliber. 

 

The dining experience is super unique. Each ship has three main dining rooms, each with its own theme and menu. You rotate throughout each one during your trip, all while keeping the same servers. Animator's Palate includes Turtle Talk with Crush!

 

Two words: Pirate. Night. Most sailings in the Bahamas and Caribbean have pirate night. You'll see everything from simple shirts to full out costumes on this night. The characters are all in pirate gear as well. There are pirate themed events all day, but the best part is the giant deck party at night, including fireworks!

 

Themed cruises! Right now they have Pixar Day at Sea, and Marvel Day at Sea cruises. Each features special character appearances and menu items. There's also Halloween on the High Seas, and Very Merry Christmas. If you've ever been to one of the parks during Halloween or Christmas, you know how well they do things.

 

All of the staterooms have a split bathroom; one room has the toilet, the other has a shower. And I believe that all of the ships now have a rectangle tub. The newest ship, the Wish, has glass shower doors instead of a shower curtain.

 

Door decorations and Fish Extender Exchanges! The doors are magnetic (with a very few exceptions), and people tend to go all out for decorating. Just do a quick search on Etsy and you'll see what's out there. Fish Extender Exchanges are a lot of fun. Basically, there's a "fish" that's outside your stateroom door that they use to stick letters/tickets/etc., in, and you can buy a hanger on Etsy. It's kinda like a Secret Santa, and people will fill the extender with little goodies. It's totally optional, too, so you're under no obligation to sign up for a group.

 

On that note, the planning/meet-up groups tend to be super active and pretty awesome. We're still friends with some folks from our cruise group from 2015.

 

Character meet & greets without the worry of weather!

 

Disney's private island, Castaway Cay, is amazing. It may not have as much as Royal's Perfect Day, but with Perfect Day you're paying to do anything beyond a basic pool and beach (the waterpark is upwards of $90/person)

 

Cons:

The biggest con, in my opinion, is the cost. Disney really doesn't do the big sales like other cruise lines, especially ones that include onboard credit. The Disney+ subscriber deal is really the best deal I've seen in years. But if you're flexible with your travel dates you can find some pretty good rates.

 

If drinking and gambling is your thing, there are no casinos on Disney ships. Things also tend to wrap up fairly "early" compared to other cruise lines, though there are some clubs open until 1 or 2.

[Nike4000]

3 hours ago, NEGeekymama said:

 

Okay...there's a lot to take in here.

 

To start, what do they mean by "trapped"? Nobody is literally forced to eat in the main dining room on a Disney ship, or any ship for that matter. Most folks just choose to eat in the MDR each night on Disney because of the unique experience each one offers. That said, there was nothing stopping them from eating elsewhere.

 

As to "more food options like in the parks", they needed to check their expectations; it's a floating hotel out in the middle of the ocean with limited space. Not acres upon acres of park.

 

And the kids hating the clubs? Sounds like a "them" thing. We couldn't get our kid to leave the club when we went. 

 

I had all of those exact same rebuttals but they were adamant that it was their worst vacation ever. Honestly, it was the last time we recommended anything to them. They got back into their Disney World cycle and were much happier. 

 

As for the kid's clubs - my kids never enjoyed them either. They much preferred hanging out with my wife and I or just finding a comfy place to sit and read that was within short range of ice cream and pizza.

[NEGeekymama]

On 12/16/2022 at 9:41 AM, Nike4000 said:

As for the kid's clubs - my kids never enjoyed them either. They much preferred hanging out with my wife and I or just finding a comfy place to sit and read that was within short range of ice cream and pizza.

 

We can never get our kids out of the kids clubs, no matter the cruise line. lol. 

[arizdback]

On 12/16/2022 at 7:01 AM, NEGeekymama said:

Cons:

 

 

If drinking and gambling is your thing, there are no casinos on Disney ships. Things also tend to wrap up fairly "early" compared to other cruise lines, though there are some clubs open until 1 or 2.

Is there any food available late? Our group is taking our first Disney Cruise in June. We are all adult seasoned cruisers who tend to stick to ourselves but we like to hang out and drink and eat late into the night. Does the ship shut down at 1?

[gometros]

10 hours ago, arizdback said:

Is there any food available late? Our group is taking our first Disney Cruise in June. We are all adult seasoned cruisers who tend to stick to ourselves but we like to hang out and drink and eat late into the night. Does the ship shut down at 1?

 

There are snacks put out in O'Gills after 11:00. It varies each night, but I've seen jalapeno poppers, wings vegetables and dip finger sandwiches, etc.  The pizza counter on deck 9/11 is usually open fairly late and then there is always 24 hour room service.

[notscb]

Others have made great points, but my thought is that if you love the Disney experience you might want to consider branching out to try the other Disney parks around the world before doing a Disney Cruise. To me, other cruise lines offer much more competitive experiences than Disney for a fraction of what you'd pay for a Disney cruise. You'd get more bang for your buck (and spend about the same or less) traveling to the other parks around the country and world as you would for a 4 night cruise on their line.

[jody]

You will love the Disney Cruise and as you are experienced cruisers, try a 7 day as the shorter ones are over too quick. We waited on booking DCL due to the cost, but once we booked one, we were ready to do more. We now have 5 under our belt and are sad we didn’t start sooner on DCL with our child. Bon voyage! 

[NoMadSean]

On 12/12/2022 at 5:35 PM, jalves said:

Good info above from @Shmoo here, as usual.

 

I'd just add that if you are Disney fans and cruise fans that yes, DCL will be a good choice for you.  Perhaps you could combine a 4-night sailing from Port Canaveral with a few days at WDW.

 

I wouldn't do anything shorter than 4-nights for your first Disney cruise (or any cruise now that I think about it).  Not sure you'd want to take a full week cruise though but it really depends on you and what your child is like.  

This is exactly what we are doing. After our last trip with a 4.5 yo, we decided we needed something more kid-focus with childcare. We decided on 3 days at Disney, followed by 4 days on the Wish. 

[carohs]

Never been to DW but I can tell you that DCL is a completely different experience than DLR. I love the shows and dining rotations and ability to see the characters all day long. They rotate and you always know who'll be where at what time through the app. The lines can be long, but I don't need my pic with every character either. Sometime it can be fun to just observe from a distance. The hallways play Disney music and Funnel Vision is on most of the days with Disney movies. It's like being in a relaxing world of Disney without the sore aching feet of standing in lines for rides all day long. 

I love late dining, and on port days or particularly busy days I like to take a nap so I make my kids take one too. Oh yeah, the best part of the ship is easy nearby access to your room when you get tired. And although having set dining times may feel restrictive for someone wanting anytime dining it's really nice also to have the consistency of a serving team, and dining time every day. Consistency is especially good if you've got littles. Anyone can order from any menu adults or kids and I've yet to get a meal I didn't enjoy. Disney is also really good about special requests for meals too. 

Last thing to add, given the choice between a trip to DLR or DCL, my kids pick DCL every time.