Subsonic Radio

...take a Disney Cruise? That is the decision we are facing right now. We are planning a week-long vacation next week and just cannot decide which to do. We live in Florida and spend many weekends in Orlando (usually a night or two at Wilderness Lodge). But we've never spent an entire week there so it would be a new experience in that sense. As for the cruise, I have been on 8 and my husband 3, but they have all been 3-nighters to Nassau. Wanting to try something new, we are looking at the Western Caribbean on DCL (so we can still enjoy the Disney magic). Help! Which would you choose and why?

I say go for both! Seriously they're both such unique vacations I'd decide on whether you want more relaxation, sun and surf or the magic of the parks/resorts. Tough call.

If you've been to WDW before a couple of times I would conside the Disney Cruise because it's alot of fun. I love WDW but DCL is a nice change of pace every now and then. But like Steve said, if you can, go for a land and sea package.

I would go on the Disney Cruise if you live in the area and can go more often to WDW. I've never been on a Cruise at all though so that would be part of my reasoning.

Of course you could have the best of both worlds by doing a land and sea package like Steve and Matt have mentioned.

We've ruled out the land and sea package mainly because the cruise portion would be to Nassau. One of the reasons we want to do a 7-night cruise is for the other ports of call. My husband has never been to Key West, and neither of us have been to Grand Cayman or Cozumel.

Totally the cruise!

The longer stay on-property would be neat, but not nearly as different from your normal trips to WDW as the long cruise is different from the short one. (was that sentence too convoluted?)

I say take the 7-night, and go Eastern. Never been on either of the long cruises, but Grand Cayman sounds awesome, and don't they stop at one of the Virign Islands as well?

Just check to make sure that Cozumel has been rebuilt. My brother and sister-in-law went last year in mid November and they were not even able to stop at Cozumel. Cozumel was totally destroyed by hurricane Katrina. In fact, my brother was told they had to rebuild the whole area where the ships dock. They have been on both cruises and they actually preferred the eastern cruise.

I'm sure you will enjoy whatever your choose. After all, it's Disney

As a Disney stockholder and fan this is a little odd for me to say but everything I've heard about the Disney Cruise Line hasn't been exceptional. From family and friends who've tried both DCL as well as other cruises they say they see little difference in the cruise experience other than there being characters on the ships. I can't say personally if that's accurate or not but I trust what they say - and I think that there are less costly alternatives to DCL that aren't much different. Of course DCL goes to Castaway Cay which others don't, but again I've been told it's not all that incredible. Again, that's from family and friends who've done both the DCL and other cruise lines (Carnival in particular is similar according to them). Just food for thought.

Mr.ToadWildRider wrote:As a Disney stockholder and fan this is a little odd for me to say but everything I've heard about the Disney Cruise Line hasn't been exceptional. From family and friends who've tried both DCL as well as other cruises they say they see little difference in the cruise experience other than there being characters on the ships. I can't say personally if that's accurate or not but I trust what they say - and I think that there are less costly alternatives to DCL that aren't much different. Of course DCL goes to Castaway Cay which others don't, but again I've been told it's not all that incredible. Again, that's from family and friends who've done both the DCL and other cruise lines (Carnival in particular is similar according to them). Just food for thought.

Toad I would have to strongly disagree with your family and friends. DCL is far superior then a Carnival cruise. Disney has done an excellent job with the ship. The service, food, and activities are soo much better then Carnival. And Castaway Key is awesome, very well organized and very relaxing.

NOW with that being said... I could never choose WCL over WDW, but that is just me


Rich

I agree with you Rich. DCL is the best cruise line I have ever been on. The service is FAR superior to other lines. I was on Princess Cruises last summer and it was horrible from the minute I got off the plane to the minute I got back on to come on. My vote, take the cruise!

Oh, I would certainly say DCL is far superior to other cruise lines we have been on (Carnival and Royal Caribbean, although I do love Royal Caribbean also). The ships are much more elegant, so the atmosphere just exudes a more relaxing experience. The staterooms are far superior, due to size alone and the split bathroom (for my tall husband this is a huge factor), and we just aren't into the casino scene, so it's a great experience to board a ship that does not revolve around gambling. We will definitely cruise with Disney again!