i know it's probably too soon , but i was just so excited to see this new thread ! .

have you ever been on a dl cruise ? what was it like ? was it expensive compared to DL ? was it fun ? did the kids have fun ? how long was it ? .....

ohhh have sooo many questions !!

My wife and I went on the 7-night cruise on the Disney Magic for our honeymoon in late 2000. We had a wonderful time on the cruise and would very much like to go again someday. We are actually doing a non-Disney (Royal Caribbean) cruise in October, so it will be interesting to see how it compares.

Let me see if I can dig up the old trip report that I wrote after we got home. If I can find it, I'll post it in this section to see if I can help get the discussion going. :)

-Jeff

I need some insight too. My fiance and I are going to WDW for our honeymoon next May. People keep telling us that as long as we are going to be there, we should go on the cruise too. We're not sure. Our final decision will probably be made based on $ and time, but I would love some other insight from people who've been on the cruise.

MickeyD, how did you pull that off?? convincing gwegory?

gwegowy totally wants to go, I'm the one who's iffy on it.

Or did you mean convincing gwegowy to marry me cuz I'm such a nut? :D ;)

Hi!

Disney cruises are really fabulous - it IS Disney!

There are lots of things to do for kids of every age group. They do great security measures with several checks to ensure that the right kids go with the right adults and you get to use the latest technology to stay in close contact with your kids while the adults do the grown-up stuff. There are lots of grown-up Disney fans who do honeymoons or romantic getaways, but Disney cruises are great for all who like a family-friendly experience. Castaway Cay is Disney's private island and it is simply divine. There are adult areas that are off-limits to kids, so if it gets crazy, the adults can "escape." You change restaurants each night and your wait staff goes with you. Of course, the shows in the evening are among the best at sea.

Be sure and book early or consider traveling in the fall months or January/February when Disney does off-season promotions. The prices are higher when schoolchildren are out of school. Disney only has two ships and people book 10-11 months early, so the lowest prices go fast. When the best prices are gone, they're gone. The prices are higher than the other family-friendly cruise lines, basically of the higher demand. But, the cruise is done in true Disney style and I think its worth it!

Enjoy!

I'd like to take a moment to welcome Julia to MousePad.

Julia is with The Cruising Company / Mouse Ears Vacations, one of the sponsors of MousePlanet. She will be a good source of information for those of you who are intersted in Disney Cruises.

However, please remember that Julia is not MP staff nor a Moderator, so please don't flood her with questions about "why is such-and-such broken"?, ok?

Again, welcome Julia. Since I will be taking my first cruise next summer, I'm looking forward to your tips.

AVP

Welcome, Julia. I hope you like it here.

Originally posted by jason
i know it's probably too soon , but i was just so excited to see this new thread ! .

have you ever been on a dl cruise ? what was it like ? was it expensive compared to DL ? was it fun ? did the kids have fun ? how long was it ? .....

ohhh have sooo many questions !!

Hubby Dear and I went in May of 1999 on The Disney Magic. We have 3 kids...but did not take them. We had a ball!!

The one thing I wish is that we could have spent more time on Disney's private island. I loved it ! I would rather go back there than to Nassau in the Bahamas.

Our room was very large...and so comfortable. I enjoyed the plays...and found myself crying during "Disney Dreams". The food was ok...nothing to write home about...

But whether you go with kids or without, if you love Disney and Mickey Mouse...you will have a grand time..!!!:D

I was onboard the Disney Wonder last November for a 4 night cruise. We had an amazing time, even with the hurricane that caused us to visit Charlestown, NC instead of Nassau and Freeport. Luckily for us Hurricane Michelle moved out in time for us to visit Disney's private island Castaway Cay. I don't know about other people, but I would be happy just visiting that island! My son had a blast too. I was surprised when he really loved the children's activity center. They did some really neat things like a treasure hunt featuring Captain Hook! The food and dining rooms were outstanding. The shows of course were spectacular. We even got to meet the World Seris MVP Kurt Shilling who joined the cruise just after winning the World Seris. that made my husband's vacation. After standing in line after line for character autograpghs with our son, now dad was the one draggin us to get an autograph. I highly recomend the Disney Cruise. It may seem a bit expensive, but it is worth every penny!

Jason - My kids loved the cruise and my husband and I let them dictate , more or less, what we did while on board...They loved swimming, ordering room service, watching non-stop Disney movies, ice cream sundaes and hot chocolate, the kids rooms, Characters on the ship etc. Compared to other cruises this one is hands down the best for families...To the characters the counselors and everything well that Disney always does its worth a few extra dollars. And many times of the year its very reasonable :cool:

My best friend, Laurie, and I went for our college graduation present on the four day Disney Wonder (combo with four days at WDW) June of 2000.

I cannot put into words how much fun we had!!!
We couldn't get over the size of the portholes ... I attended an animation class and an improv class ... both of us enjoyed the Imageneer discussion about Animal Kingdom .... had a blast at Who wants to be a mousketter and the Pirate Game ... We got a tour of Common grounds, the Oceaneer's Lab and the Nursey (so cute) ... I loved my cabana massage at Castaway Cay and my foot massage/hydrocapsule/scalp/neck massage ... The shows are fabulous! We both cried at the end of Disney Dreams.

Our table was six adults who all loved Disney (second seating has less kids).
The adult areas are great!!!!: Serentity Bay, Route 66 and the pool!
I've been on lots of other cruises and considering the amount of kids on this one -- I was shocked at how little I saw any.

I would reccommend this for Adults without kids who like Disney. You are treated like royalty from the moment you check-in (in our case our check-in was the Dixie Landings). I would go again in a heartbeat.

We did four days at WDW before the cruise (three days with a one day add on since we knew we would lose a day in the traveling).
Day 1: Check in/Animal Kingdom/EPCOT (this was great since we didn't need to worry about the bags)
Day 2: MK all day
Day 3: EPCOT/Pleasure Island (Adventurers Club rocks!)
Day 4: MGM/MK

You never have to worry about your bags! I know other people mentioned a long wait at the terminal, but since we went to WDW ahead of time, we were already checked in and walked right through.

Laurie and I hope to go on the seven day one -- and I hope to take my sister on the Cruise/WDW for her bat mitzvah in three years.

Two enthusiatic Mickey Gloves up!

I took a 3 day Disney Cruise with my family in 2000 and we loved it! My wife and I have twin boys. At the time they were 6 years old and they really enjoyed the kids club. My son Josh couldn't get enough of the slide at the kid's pool. My wife and I appreciated the chance to do many things with the kids on the cruise, yet have time to ourselves (especially a great dinner at Palos) thanks to the kids clubs.

Castaway Cay was wonderful, even to a non-swimmer like myself. I didn't do much in the water, but enjoyed just walking around the island and taking pictures.

We thought the food was very good on the cruise - especially Lumieres. We ate breakfast and lunch on most days in addition to the one night we ate there on our dining rotation.

We liked the show "Disney Dreams" in the theatre, and we saw several first run movies in the movie theatre.

Overall we really enjoyed the cruise, and we can't wait to take the cruise again (this time for 7 days)!