Why did you chose a European (port-intensive) Disney cruise?

[DCLMP]

I don't know about the selling like hotcakes comment. The three I've taken were all with last-minute discounts. When they throw out a new itinerary it seems to sell quickly, but if you look at next year there's still a lot of availability I booked Odyssey of the sea next year out of Rome 11 night greek isles and Isreal cruise. I'm paying 5700 for a balcony room vs 12k for an inside room on the Magic's 12 night Greek Isle cruise. The balcony room on the Magic is currently 20k. I can't wrap my brain around that.

I may do one of the Sept magic cruises or the Transatlantic if I have the money and the time off, but at today's prices and all the new ships out there that are better than the Magic I wouldn't spend the money on one of their port-intensive European cruises. The only reason I did Disney in the past was that the prices were more reasonable.

 

[dvcdisney]

For my family, it's quite simple. After taking several Caribbean and Bahamian cruises with DCL, we knew we wouldn't cruise Europe with another cruise line.

We've only cruise 3 times in Europe and only with DCL - British Isles and twice (somewhat different itinerary) Norway/Iceland. We actually had Northern European booked and cancelled twice already - hoping 2022 will go ahead. Those cruises gave us a few sea days and we enjoyed it, but our main purpose was the ports. However, for us the cruise ship (where we stay) is as important as where we go.

I have a friend who couldn't understand why we like to stay in nice hotels and spend the day out on excursions...she said for her family, they would stay at a place like holiday inn when they vacation because they don't spend any time in the hotel, other than sleep and shower. She is also the same person who insists I'm crazy for spending more on DCL vs Carnival (what she usually uses) when it's similar itineraries. But she's the first one to complain about the cruise experience.

If we thought it was too expensive to cruise to a certain place, but we could save money by taking another cruise line, we would just choose another DCL itinerary that we can afford.

So, in my convoluted way to explain - sorry about that.....My family chooses to cruise with DCL even in port extensive itineraries for the same reason. We believe that where we stay is as important as where we go.

 

[flipflop]

When we decided we wanted to take our kids overseas (at 12/13 - we have 4 kids between the DH and I that are all the same age), we decided that a DCL cruise would be a perfect introduction. We got to expose the kids to international travel, go to ports we are interested in as adults, and the kids get to come back to a ship they know and hang out with new friends (and eat ice cream from the machine). DCL is a well known product to our family - our kids love cruising on their ships and we enjoy the service and the ease that comes DCL taking such good care of us. DH and I are well traveled through Europe without our kids. When we have traveled alone previously, we have not cruised - primarily because we want to be immersed in a country (like Italy). The first Ex-US cruise we chose was an 11 night - denmark, norway, iceland, scotland & england. That was perfect at 12/13 because it was a lot of variety of outdoor activities - not an overabundance of churches, castles and museums. Highlights for the kids on that trip included seeing hair "coos", riding in a car on the troll path in Norway (super windy), and being in a monster truck in iceland and going straight up the side of a mountain/extremely large hill while we were otherwise out casually touring with a guide. We still talk about the screaming that occurred in the monster truck. The second was an 11 night Baltic when they were 14. They were ready for castles and churches then - though still pretty port intensive, especially with St. Petersburg. They didn't necessarily appreciate how much I squeezed in while we were in Russia. On the flip side, they now know they like sweden - favorite moment eating swedish meatballs while practicing swedish with our tour guide. We liked being able to go to ports in locations where we might not want to dedicate a full vacation and also got informed about where we may like to go back for a longer time. Those cruises were the perfect fit for our interests and family at the time we sailed.

 

[DCLMP]

For port intensive cruises we usually sail other cruise lines. When sailing DCL, we want plenty of time on the ship to enjoy the Disney experience. We also realized in 2010 when I took my girls on their first non-DCL cruise which was the NCL Epic's inaugural sailing - 7 night (no ports) TA crossing from Southampton to NYC that my kid's were cruisers not just DCL cruisers. Like me, they just love to cruise, period. We are also concierge/suite cruisers and we enjoy trying other lines concierge offerings. That definitely helped make the transition to other cruise lines for port intensive cruises and other itineraries much easier. Also eye opening was in 2013 we sailed the 14 night DCL EBTA from Galveston to Barcelona, flew to Copenhagen for a few days and then sailed a 9 night Baltic on NCL in a 2 bedroom suite with all private port tours and spent a week in Paris with a couple of days in Disneyland Paris. Best of both worlds!! The second portion of our trip (Copenhagen, Baltic cruise and Paris - a total 18 days) did not cost much more than a DCL Baltic sailing would have for our family of 5 at the time.

Let me add, this is what works for our family.

I did notice the suites on Royal's new ship were less than an inside room on Disney's old ship. We cruised Disney in the past because the prices were more in the ballpark of what I was willing to spend. If I'm going to spend that kind of money I'd rather do something unique like an adventure by Disney vacation to some exotic destination. It's hard for me to spend X amount of dollars for something I can spend 1\4 of X amount of dollars for the exact same thing....minus mickey mouse of course.

 

[RACHEL_GB]

We did our first cruise (and first DCL) from Dover to Barcelona and loved it but thought the ports weren't super interesting, so when we booked on board for the next year we decided to do the Med round trip instead. We didn't get off at Civitavecchia, there were, I think, 8 very large ships also in port that day and decided Rome would be something we could do with the kids when they were older rather than battle the crowds and heat. We loved Pompeii and Florence and got off at Villefranche too, it was the right balance for us.
I can appreciate that for people flying in from US/Canada its pricey, but for us it was on a par for what we'd pay as a family of 4, flying to a reasonably mediocre all-inclusive beach resort from Britain in the school holidays.

 

[MomOTwins]

I haven't been on a European cruise yet, but when I do, I've done a ton of researching other cruise line websites (both Europe and Alaska) because I WISH I could save a buck, but at the end I come back to thinking we just need to do Disney because:

Family of 5: We're a family of 5 with small kids and don't yet feel comfortable splitting up into different cabins. That really limits the cruise ships that can accommodate us without a big suite, which wipes out most of the cost savings between DCL and other lines.

Port Adventures: On other lines I've researched port adventures for young children are somewhat limited compared to DCL. And while there may be a port or two where I am comfortable on my own because I don't have to go far from the ship, quite a few of the Europe ports require lengthy bus transfers to get to the "main attractions"--which I simply find too risky to do on my own as it could result in missing the ship.

Sea Days: Yes, European cruises are fairly port intensive. But they also have sea days. And I love that on DCL, there are so many experiences for kids that aren't just getting put in "day care" all day. Yes, our kids enjoy the clubs, but we also go see a show together, play mini golf, do some of the family game shows etc. So much caters to families on DCL.

Bribery: I bribe my kids. I'll admit it. We have dragged them through museums and fancy dinners to copious whining and fussing and groaning. It is not enjoyable for either the kids or the adults. But when we're on a Disney trip, we can "take turns" and everyone is happy. We'll go have dinner at a signature restaurant or watch a "boring" circle vision at Epcot and the kids behave because they know it's the price of being at Disney World. We'll go on a port adventure to see some ruins in Mexico and while the kids don't really want to, they understand they'll get to have fun in the kids club later. Everyone gets what they want.

Unique needs: Our youngest son has special needs, and on DCL (and WDW for the matter) that makes him a VIP. With other vacations, it is a source of stress and I am constantly worried about his safety. I know the ship is safe for him and the CMs are well trained and understanding of kids who are a little different. Relatedly, does not affect us, but I know some parents who have kids with severe food allergies that love Disney for the same reason--they really take it seriously and have great accommodations.

Happy Place: It's mine. Which candidly, would probably be enough on its own to justify the cost!

 

[blabadie]

Our family has done the DCL British Isles cruise. We spent a week touring England prior to the cruise. We were cruising with friends who love DCL, but we were also happy to do DCL because our kids were ages 5, 7, and 8 and we thought the Disney themed dining and shows in the evening would be a nice contrast to the fairly intensive history related touring we did pre-cruise and in ports. Honestly, the cost of the cruise seemed pretty reasonable to us, probably because we were in the off-season (September).

That being said, when we planned a multi-generation Greek Isles/Mediterranean cruise for 2020, we chose Holland America because we did NOT want to go in the heat of the summer. There is no way I could justify the DCL premium and have miserable port days just for a bit of Disney in the evening. Our family loves history but there's no way my kids would have handled exploring Pompeii, the Acropolis, the Palace of Knossos, etc. in the heat of summer. (I did Italy and Greece in the summer once and vowed never again---and we are from the South.) I know a lot of people are anti-Holland America bc of the average passenger age, but on a European cruise I wasn't concerned about the ship except that I wanted it to feel like a quality experience.

The one thing I do particularly like about DCL are a few of their themed signature port excursions. We mostly handled our own port arrangements, but we loved that DCL offered a Beatrix Potter themed Lake District excursion which would have been very difficult to arrange on our own. I haven't been, but I've always been intrigued by the Viking living history village that Disney offers on one of its Norwegian Fjords port excursions.

 

[oufpat]

My DH had no desire to go to Europe until I told him that Mickey would be sailing the boat, that sealed the deal! Our third European trip is booked for next year, postponed from this year!

 

[Sakura1017]

Chose Disney since it was a luxury brand, and chose Europe because of the excursions. Definitely, choose a European cruise with longer dates that way you can go to more ports if possible.

 

[Drfate102]

This month I am celebrating my 47th Birthday, which was suppose to be on the Wonder in Alaska ( I will be celebrating my 48th on the Wonder in Alaska). But I have started to think about my 50th, and we are looking into a European cruise, with a side trip to Paris as plan A. And we have started to look at all of the Ports of Call that we would like to do. I think it would be amazing on DCL, not cheap, but amazing.

 

[StarSeven7]

We just booked our first European cruise for September 2022 and we chose Royal Caribbean. It was actually seeing an announcement for booking DCL that got me looking into European cruises. My husband gave me the ok to book DCL even though I warned him it would be expensive but when I actually researched pricing and saw it would be around $13,000 for our family of 4 in an oceanview room for a 9 night Mediterranean cruise it was a no-go. We're pretty frugal and I just can't justify spending that much! We ended up booking a 7 night Royal Caribbean cruise that was around $3500 for our family of 4 in an oceanview room - so a savings of around $10,000! It also worked out good because my parents decided to come with us and they would not have been able to afford DCL. We have taken one DCL cruise and we loved it but the long dinners are not really our thing, we love to eat outside and enjoy great weather and views. Our favorite evening on our DCL cruise was when we skipped dinner and ate up on deck while our kids rode the slide over and over again and we watched the sunset. On Royal Caribbean we will most likely just eat at the buffet most nights. I've spent quite a bit of time traveling in Europe, I spent a semester abroad and did a lot of backpacking around in college so I'm very comfortable planning out all my own transportation and excursions. We decided to do a cruise mainly because there were a few islands I wanted to travel to that would be time consuming to travel to on our own, plus I thought the kids would have fun. We plan to spend a week before our cruise in Croatia since we were hoping to go there this summer to celebrate my 40th birthday but that's obviously not going to happen! We know going in that Royal Caribbean won't be the same as DCL and my expectations are lowered but honestly, we're pretty easy going and not fussy at all so I'm sure we will be fine!

 

[Ladybugx87]

For us, we love DCL and our kids are still young and enjoy all of the Disney add-ons. We have done Western Med, Baltic, Iceland/Norway, and will do Greece next summer - our reasons are a mix of what's been discussed so far - I do these trips via cruise because I really like all of the places we can see in a single trip to determine where we want to spend more time on a separate (non-cruise) trip. I do these trips via Disney because we love the ambiance, the service, and just Disney overall. Our kids are only 10 and 6 right now so I am not really looking at other lines in the short-term unless cost became too unwieldy.

 

[TestingH2O]

We chose to do DCL mainly because we had a multigenerational group. When we go again we will either do a land trip or, if my parents come again, we will do a river cruise.

• My daughter was 6, so we wanted to be sure she was entertained while we were on the ship.
• My parents were in their 70’s, and my mom planned to stay on board for Rome and wanted to know she would comfortable.
• We went in the shoulder season so the price wasn’t overwhelming.
  

 

[ldo]

We booked dcl norway fjords with 2 teens a few years ago. It was not much more than other lines for OV quad. We had a few sea days and only did 1/2 days in port. We loved dcl for that cruise.
But, I agree with OP, for port intensive, it’s usually not worth it to us to pay a premium. We’re gone all day and come back and jump in the pool eat and veg. Sailed princess ncl Rccl and all were fine for Europe. Princess is our 2nd fav line. DS liked larger NCL ship for bowling alley and cool entertainment.
Our “kids” are now in their early 20s-next non-Europe cruise is on DCL!

 

[ct7878]

We traditionally do two vacations a year- usually it has been 2 cruises, although recently with an older teen we did do some more land based trips. Our first trip is always a DCL trip - this is usually found by figuring out what is the best price that I can get per person, per day to have the DCL experience for at least 7 days. Honestly, the destination doesn’t matter- just want on a DCL ship! Frequently, this has worked out to be a TA trip- we have done 2 and have our 3rd booked. We adore the sea time and just getting to enjoy the ship. While the end is port intensive, sometimes we don’t even feel the need to get off the ship!

Then our next vacation is all about the designation - we have done a couple of port intensive European itineraries before, primarily on Princess. Long, exhausting days- the ship is a hotel with meals and room service. Nothing more is needed- I don’t think I could justify the the DCL price with these itineraries.

My only caveat to this would be that we just had a late in life baby- we now have a 17 year old and 7 month old! We have gotten used to some great vacations and I will be curious to see how baby changes this. The only reason I might see that I would be willing to pay more at this point now would be children’s programming. Having this as an option for some adult only time could be worth a premium- be for a quiet dinner or even a quick shore excursion.

 

[DisneyParkLover]

We love DCL but we also just love cruising. So far we have only done port intensive cruises (Europe and Alaska) with other cruise lines. While we would certainly be open to doing a port intensive cruise with DCL, we spend so little time on the ship for those kind of itineraries. So the ship is pretty much just a place to crash at the end of a long day. So without having a lot of time to enjoy all the extra Disney perks, we would really only do Disney for these type of cruises if the price was pretty similar to other lines.

 

[GuardMusic]

We had traveled to Europe previously - me more than BFF. Our 2019 Med was due to BFF wanting to see "more of the world" and me wanting the security & comfort of DCL (much of what @bcwife76 said above). The last thing I want after a day of touring is having to hassle with directions of finding dinner, etc. We also picked this over a land trip (again) to avoid having to pack up and move via train or plane.

Yes it was exhausting with 4 port days in a row (heavy rain on 2). To make the most of it we did big and long port adventures ($$$) in every stop. It was an amazing experience, but I wouldn't do the Med again. The prime locations were too far from the port and felt we wasted a lot of time just "coming & going". However, I do have my sights set on Northern Europe.

As a former head of DCL once said, "People want to see the world and they want Disney to take them there." To that I say AMEN!

 

[tlprice]

When my daughter was 11 we did the Med from Barcelona to Rome on DCL (2018). For 2 people, I didn't find much difference in price between DCL and other cruise lines. We also usually stay in an interior stateroom because we don't spend a lot of time in the room. I specifically chose the one way itinerary because I didn't want to be rushed to do Rome in a day so we spent 3 days there after our cruise. I also didn't want my daughter to be overwhelmed and hate her first trip to Europe so I knew a Disney cruise would be much more enticing (we had been on 4 previous DCL cruises). I also sought her input in what we did in each port. Most of our port days we did 1/2 day excursions of things that she would enjoy. I figured we could always go back another time and do other, longer excursions when she was older. Since we mostly did 1/2 day excursions (only one DCL, the rest I planned independently), we actually spent quite a bit of time on the ship. We really enjoyed it because there weren't many people on the ship because they were all out on long excursions so we just got to relax and enjoy and we were never exhausted, but still felt like we really got to enjoy Europe too. I wouldn't have changed a thing about the way we did it.
She has been excited to go back to Europe again for other cruises. We did a WBTA in 2019 and were supposed to do Med Greece this summer, but we have changed that to Northern Europe in 2022 . The Northern Europe goes to Russia which we are really excited about. I don't think I would ever be brave enough to just venture to Russia in any other way. (We would not be able to do this one without the 125% from our cancelled Med Greece cruise--it IS an expensive one so we are taking advantage.)