What do you think about Disney Cruise Line?

[LCPZA]

I just came back from a 13 day cruise on Explorers of The Sea. I really did not enjoy it.
I felt bored... This was my first cruise and it did not live up to what I wanted.
My opinion was unless you wanted to sit in the sun at the pool all day, drink, play bingo, eat, or just wonder around the ship there was nothing to do during the day. Now at night there was a ton of stuff to do but it was a first come first serve and most of the time you would miss something to wait in line to get a seat at the show you wanted to see. (CRUISE SHIP WAS PACKED)
My son was in the 12-14 age group and unless there was 6 or more kids that showed up during the scheduled times for them there was nothing for them to do on the ship. The event was cancelled. Lets just say he did nothing all week because his group never had 6 kids show up (2-3 max). This was his 3rd cruise and he said it was not fun.

I have been wanting to do a DC for 2 years (LONG BEFORE THIS 1st Cruise) however I am wondering are they catered to the smaller children or all age groups? Are there activites during the day other then the pool and bingo for adults? Do you think they are worth the money (will not be using my DVCpoints)? I am trying to convince my husbands family to do a DC in 08 or 09 and really need some feedback of what people think about the cruise ship.
Thanks for any information you can give me.

[jodijo]

We had similar experiences on our first 2 cruises. In fact they were so bad I thought I would never take a cruise again. My family does not like to sit around.
Well, we decide we would try one more with Disney Cruise line (4 day). We LOVED it! My kids are 9 & 12. They both loved it. The kids club was always open throughout the day and doing different activities. My husband, a movie fan, spent a lot of time in the movie theater. I loved having time to myself to see shows and do whatever I wanted to. We also came together throughout the day to do family activities.(We liked the animators class and kite making.) I would recommend it. We are now going to do a 7 days Disney Cruise in Feb. I hope you give DCL a chance.

[GreenBeetle]

We absolutely loved it! We have no other cruise line to compare it to, but I can't imagine anyone else doing it better. My daughter (10) would have spent ALL her time in the Oceaneer Lab with her group if we would have let her. Even my 17 year old son asked when we can go again! If you can keep a teenager happy, I think that's says alot about the Disney cruise line.

[TammiMcMan]

We're a family with a range of age groups. Oldest daughter is a young adult, son is a teenager and youngest daughter is pre-teen. I can honestly say, that not one of us has had a bad time on a Disney cruise. We sort of had the opposite problem, in that there were so many choices, we couldn't possibly do it all. A highlighter pen is something that's always brought in our luggage, because we have to pick and choose which activities we want to do. Whether the ship was in port or at sea, whether it was morning, afternoon or evening, they had plenty of things scheduled for all age groups.

It's probably the most expensive cruise you'll ever take, but well worth it in my book.

[Joy2theworld]

We did one for our honeymoon two years ago. It was the Easter cruise, so, needless to say, it was packed with families. However, we had an incredible time! There were so many activities to choose from and my husband is even talking about trying to take another 7 day one, but just staying on the ship in the ports so that we can truly enjoy the cruising experience. We have been on one other cruise since the Disney, Holland America, and although the destination was amazing, Alaska, the cruise couldn't come close to Disney's in terms of activities, service, food, etc...