No kids why do you stay with Disney?

[disneyfan888]

For many years we fell into the "cruising Disney with no kids" category, but we now have a little one who will be on her third Disney cruise in May and we love it just the same.
Many people believe that the only way to do anything Disney is with children and that is so beyond the truth. While Disney of course caters to children and families, it knows how to provide exceptional service to kids of all ages, including those 18++
We sail Disney for the same reason we love going to Disney parks and resorts. Disney has a magical ambiance that we simply do not experience anywhere else. Not to mention we are huge Disney fans. If you love Disney, you can't go wrong even if you don't have kids in your party.

 

[cyclenut]

I should start by saying I'm not a huge Disney fan at least by comparison to many on these boards. In fact I'm far more committed to Disney cruise line than I am the parks. I've spent more time on their ships than I have in their parks. With regards to why I continue to choose them, I would say it is in part because I know I am going to enjoy myself. I haven't tried that many other cruise lines because there are things about them that just don't sound enjoyable. Not all of the concerns are rational but since I am usually travelling with friends I'm only paying one portion of a DCL fare which makes the price worthwhile even if it's a bit more.

Some of my concerns include:
1. Cleanliness - Disney doesn't seem to end up on front page news for having massive norovirus outbreaks. That doesn't necessarily mean they don't happen but they've only ever had three reported cases. Yes, they have less ships which rationally means less noroviruses but before the Wonder in 2016 they had been clean since 2002.
2. Activities - Like many who have found Disney I am not attracted to the casinos or the parties at nightclubs on board. In fact if a cruise line features these it starts to turn me off. I would rather a laid back bar where I can talk with friends and have a drink or two. I realize other cruise lines have areas like this that are away from casinos or party venues but the fact that they have a casino at all is a major turn off for me.
3. Size of Fleet - Disney has 4 ships (soon to be 7) I can look on their website and clearly see which ones have which features. This is not the case on some of the larger cruise lines on lines like Carnival which has 27 ships or even Celebrity which has 17 I would have to search through to find out if a ship has features/restaurants I would like or where it travels etc. It's doable but not appealing when I already know what I like and enjoy with Disney.
4. Dining Experience - I like the set meal times and that our servers rotate with us. I realize that's become an industry standard. Beyond that though I like the extra steps DCL makes to have it be an experience from watching the restaurant come to life in animators palate or even having live entertainment ala Tiana's Place I feel like Disney tries to make it more than dinner in at least one restaurant aboard each ship.

That being said, there are things that I dislike about Disney. For example, their itineraries are getting a little stale. I want to see the world and Disney can't really provide that for me anymore. They have very limited port choices in the Mediterranean because they stick to the Western Mediterranean and haven't returned to the Greek Isles or even gone as far as Venice since 2014. Most other cruise lines have resumed service to these locations but Disney remains limited. They do very similar cruises each year (often swapping out one or two ports) so that they can leave the Dream and the Fantasy in the Bahamas and Caribbean respectively. Hopefully this will change when they have the new ships because I would be more likely to go on a Disney cruise if they provided completely new itineraries as they are my first choice in ocean cruises but until they do that I may find myself looking into other lines.

I completely agree with your comments on Cleanliness and Dining Experience. Disney beats everyone by a mile on both of those. The cleanliness part is a Disney hallmark everywhere you go with Disney too. Theme parks, hotels, cruise lines, etc. Second to none. I also find the crew to fully understand customer service. Some things are very subtle but you notice them when they are not there. Those things keep me coming back.

Then there is your last paragraph, which keeps me wondering why I keep coming back. We looked at a really fun itinerary for Summer 2019. Disney Fantasy Southern Caribbean 11-night. $10,000 for two in a Navigators Verandah. We are gold and that is when gold opened. YIKES. The one itinerary we thought might keep us going in 2019 on Disney and it has a ridiculous price. All the other itineraries are pretty much the same as they ever were. There are some interesting European itineraries, but those have high airfare costs. So here we sit. Thinking about options and realizing that when you sail with other lines, you don't really have to be in such a big hurry to book!

 

[mevelandry]

I completely agree with your comments on Cleanliness and Dining Experience. Disney beats everyone by a mile on both of those. (...)

Disney may beat some other cruise lines on cleanliness (although we could debate about this since they only have four ships to take care of vs 20+ for other cruise lines and it varies from ship to ship. The Carnival Victory scored 100 a few weeks before our first sailing.)

...but I would respectfully disagree regarding the dining experience (with the exception of the entertainment) when it comes to the food quality.

Regarding the food, DH and I find that Carnival beat DCL by far when it comes to food options and quality... I don't know if you have tried the Steakhouse and Jiji Asian Kitchen but IMO even though the type of cuisine was different, we found that it was on par with Remy for a 15$/pp and a 35$/pp extra (vs 85$/pp for Remy) and that Cucina del Capitano was on par with Palo (15$/pp vs 30$/pp).

I have not tried RCCL and NCL yet but I can't wait.

 

[cyclenut]

Disney may beat some other cruise lines on cleanliness (although we could debate about this since they only have four ships to take care of vs 20+ for other cruise lines and it varies from ship to ship. The Carnival Victory scored 100 a few weeks before our first sailing.)

...but I would respectfully disagree regarding the dining experience (with the exception of the entertainment) when it comes to the food quality.

Regarding the food, DH and I find that Carnival beat DCL by far when it comes to food options and quality... I don't know if you have tried the Steakhouse and Jiji Asian Kitchen but IMO even though the type of cuisine was different, we found that it was on par with Remy for a 15$/pp and a 35$/pp extra (vs 85$/pp for Remy) and that Cucina del Capitano was on par with Palo (15$/pp vs 30$/pp).

I have not tried RCCL and NCL yet but I can't wait.

I don't mean to say that Disney has better food quality. Their food quality is good, but not the best. I don't care for Remy, but I just don't care for French Cuisine. I love Palo.
I was careful to say "Dining Experience" and I was really referring to the main dining room (e.g. no upcharge). I think you will agree that the overall experience, which includes the themes, showlike atmosphere and the change of venue make Disney truly unique.

Food quality is so subjective I rarely debate that here. It's just too hard to distinguish across many dishes, many people, many cruises, different chefs, kitchens, servers, etc. The variability is great. I've had really great meals one night and sub par the next, on every single cruise I've ever been on. That said, I find Disney consistently good (not great) and Carnival more often reminds me of dinner at a budget restaurant. I've had to send things back multiple times on Carnival. Our last time on the Breeze I had one dinner where after two attempts I eventually just left and went to the buffet. I think it was pork chops and they were just inedible. I asked for a different entree. They brought that but it was stone cold. Service was so poor I actually got up and retrieved our own water and tea pitcher to get refills. When the server saw we had the pitchers on the table, he said nothing. Still loved the Breeze. Loved the cruise. Planning to sail Carnival Visa in 2019. But for me, I find Carnival to be well below Disney in food quality in the main dining room. Where Disney really falls off is on the buffet.

 

[mevelandry]

I don't mean to say that Disney has better food quality. Their food quality is good, but not the best. I don't care for Remy, but I just don't care for French Cuisine. I love Palo.
I was careful to say "Dining Experience" and I was really referring to the main dining room (e.g. no upcharge). I think you will agree that the overall experience, which includes the themes, showlike atmosphere and the change of venue make Disney truly unique.

Food quality is so subjective I rarely debate that here. It's just too hard to distinguish across many dishes, many people, many cruises, different chefs, kitchens, servers, etc. The variability is great. I've had really great meals one night and sub par the next, on every single cruise I've ever been on. That said, I find Disney consistently good (not great) and Carnival more often reminds me of dinner at a budget restaurant. I've had to send things back multiple times on Carnival. Our last time on the Breeze I had one dinner where after two attempts I eventually just left and went to the buffet. I think it was pork chops and they were just inedible. I asked for a different entree. They brought that but it was stone cold. Service was so poor I actually got up and retrieved our own water and tea pitcher to get refills. When the server saw we had the pitchers on the table, he said nothing. Still loved the Breeze. Loved the cruise. Planning to sail Carnival Visa in 2019. But for me, I find Carnival to be well below Disney in food quality in the main dining room. Where Disney really falls off is on the buffet.

I agree with the Dining Experience part. Especially regarding Tiana's.

For me it was the opposite. I've left some dishes untouched on DCL while my MDR meals on the Victory and the Vista were great and servers were just as friendly and efficient.

Since you are going to sail on the Vista next year: while I think you won't be disappointed with the dining room, I highly recommend all the extra dining options (Cucina del Capitano, Farenheit 555, Jiji Asian Kitchen, Bonsai Sushi) They won't break your wallet. Also, the new breakfast menu on port days is great. I recommend it as well.

 

[Shanti]

I am one who likes to unplug at sea, so I don't pay attention to that. I'm weird that way.

That's not weird. Why cruise and not be fully present for the experience?

 

[MickeyD]

Dug 720 said: I am one who likes to unplug at sea, so I don't pay attention to that. I'm weird that way.

That's not weird. Why cruise and not be fully present for the experience?

I agree completely! I don't understand why people spend all this money on cruising and then spend so much of their time on their phone/social media. I would rather fully experience everything the cruise has to offer and then FB it when I get home.

 

[Dug720]

That's not weird. Why cruise and not be fully present for the experience?

Dug 720 said: I am one who likes to unplug at sea, so I don't pay attention to that. I'm weird that way.


I agree completely! I don't understand why people spend all this money on cruising and then spend so much of their time on their phone/social media. I would rather fully experience everything the cruise has to offer and then FB it when I get home.

Thank you! I'm glad to know I'm not alone! It feels that way sometimes when so many people are complaining about the cost of internet and/or spotty coverage.

 

[Shanti]

Thank you! I'm glad to know I'm not alone! It feels that way sometimes when so many people are complaining about the cost of internet and/or spotty coverage.

Unplugging and being unavailable to anyone but my son is actually one of the things I really look forward to about a cruise.

 

[Dug720]

Unplugging and being unavailable to anyone but my son is actually one of the things I really look forward to about a cruise.

Awesome!!

 

[85glht]

We do like Castaway Cay, but we also really liked Labadee. That is the Royal Caribbean private beach in Haiti. It isn't an island, but really feels like it. You dock there and all you see is the Royal Caribbean beach. They have quite a few cabanas and ours was literally over the water (our request) and the prices are much more reasonable. They are not fully enclosed, but enclosed on three sides, with a ceiling fan and a fully exposed deck for sunning. We had a ladder down to the water and they had wait staff right there to bring you whatever you wanted.

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/ports/group/home.do?portCode=LAB

That sounds nice!!

 

[KashasMom]

Other cruise lines have food, entertainment, service, etc. just as good or better than DCL. We sailed Disney because of our daughter but she's pretty much outgrown much of what Disney offers her. We may have another Disney cruise in our future (mostly depends on what the new ships have and their itineraries). However, cruising without my daughter, I'd choose another cruise line.

 

[DisneyMomforLife]

I am a mom to 20 year old and 28 year old ... we have cruised 4 times with Disney and no other cruise lines as of yet.

The service, cleanliness and friends you make for life ... I think this will be hard to beat!! We are dying to get on a DCL again and even if they couldn't go, I would still as it's really top notch in every area!

 

[mevelandry]

Thank you! I'm glad to know I'm not alone! It feels that way sometimes when so many people are complaining about the cost of internet and/or spotty coverage.

I can imagine... People in general are hooked to SM and don't realize it.

If it wasn't for my cats (someone takes care of them while we are out of town) I could go without internet/wifi without a week and I wouldn't miss it at all!

 

[bobbiwoz]

We just got off the Wonder, and DH informed me that he likes DCL the best because of the daytime activities that he is more likely to join, and he enjoys sitting and watching movies in a real theater.

We chose itineries, and so we have sailed many other cruise lines for at least 40 other cruises, some before DCL came about. Sometimes we do chose other lines because DCL is so much more expensive and this comes into play especially when we have other friends sailing with us.

For a quick, unplanned get away, we are happy to sail with DCL. I loved the Tiana’s place dining experiences! This was our first time in that venue.

Palo dinner was excellent!

Our servers were top notch, same for stateroom host and head waiter.

 

[LWhitt]

We started on Disney and will stay on Disney Love the quality, friendliness, and customer service aspect. Rooms are clean- not many drunks roaming the ship and we feel safe. Our kids are late teens and we have even sailed without them. Have thought of trying other cruises but never have as we love to relax on vacation and not worry. Disney gives us that.

 

[AngelDisney]

When my daughter turned 18, she was thrilled to be able to use the adult pool and go to the adult beach on CC.

When my DD turned 18, “I” was thrilled to dine at Palo the first time, and visit Serenity Bay.

 

[RedSox68]

When my DD turned 18, “I” was thrilled to dine at Palo the first time, and visit Serenity Bay.

Oh yeah

 

[cruiser21]

Dug 720 said: I am one who likes to unplug at sea, so I don't pay attention to that. I'm weird that way.


I agree completely! I don't understand why people spend all this money on cruising and then spend so much of their time on their phone/social media. I would rather fully experience everything the cruise has to offer and then FB it when I get home.

I cruise for the ports. I get bored on the ship. Plus I've cruised a lot? Im not sure there's anything on the cruise that Ive not experienced. Who says it's social media? I like to keep up with emails, financial markets, and what going on in the world. I don't cruise to shut myself off. Actually I don't do any social media like FB. I do a lot of online reading while I'm sitting by the pool. I read books too, but a good part of my free time at home or on vacation is spent reading. I would love better internet service on DCL.

 

[cyclenut]

I cruise for the ports. I get bored on the ship. Plus I've cruised a lot? Im not sure there's anything on the cruise that Ive not experienced. Who says it's social media? I like to keep up with emails, financial markets, and what going on in the world. I don't cruise to shut myself off. Actually I don't do any social media like FB. I do a lot of online reading while I'm sitting by the pool. I read books too, but a good part of my free time at home or on vacation is spent reading. I would love better internet service on DCL.

I agree with most of what you said, expect the getting bored part, but I haven't cruised as often as you have. I hope it never comes to that.

In any case, there are a lot of reasons to want better WiFi on board. You mention many of them. What I'd like to point out is that there are many different ways to feel relaxed and really enjoy a vacation. Being able to use the Internet is, for a lot of people, part of what they enjoy. It's not always about social media, but it could be. That's not really for me to judge.

Personally, I like to disconnect from the world and escape. But I'm the curious type and would love to be able to google things when I want to know more. More about a port we're visiting. More about something that came up at dinner with our tablemates. More about a performer that's on board. More about something we've seen in the distance. More about the prices for some merchandise I'm considering buying.

I also leave one e-mail account that I check, in case of urgent needs. I can be alerted by family if something happens they want me to know about. My manager and my direct reports (nobody else) have that e-mail address in case there is an unusually urgent matter at the office I need to check into. That way I won't feel compelled to check work e-mail. I don't need great Internet for that, but it would be nice.

Lastly, there are a number of apps I like to use that seem to require internet connectivity to really work right. For example, i use Untappd. I'm a craft beer drinker and I like to check out the beer I'm having to see what others have said about it, the origin, the brewer. The app does that for me, but without Internet, it's unusable. I track what I eat to help me manage my weight. These apps (there are a few out there) require Internet to work. I log my exercise to keep track of what I'm doing. Again, Internet. I take photos with my phone and I'd love to have them backed up to the cloud while I"m on vacation. Vacation photos are the BEST. Again, good Internet.

Disney needs to WAKE UP and get into the modern age.