How do you convince friends/family that a Disney cruise is totally different than anything they've experienced before

[JM_97]

My one complaint about DCL is there's no nightlife on DCL. After about 11 or 12 the ship goes silent.

That's what has me going back and forth between DCL and other lines

 

[Melissa S]

What happened if you don't mind me asking? Did y'all have a bad server, obnoxious table mates or what? Were they having issues they brought onboard with them? I've heard people say it wasn't for them but I've never heard "hate", that's pretty extreme.

They are very “spontaneous” and don’t like to do any planning at all or be on a schedule. We didn’t pressure them to do any activities but they didn’t like that they had a dinner seating, had to be back on the boat a certain time, etc. They paid for my aunt to join for babysitting even though I said the girls would be in the club the whole time- which they were (their child insisted on even eating dinner there because she loved it so much while ours at least ate with us in the MDR lol) and they spent more time with her than they expected.

Looking back I think the main reason of the anger was the cost. They tend to vacation on the very cheap and it was a lot of money for them. when they didn’t enjoy it, they began to resent the fact that they spend a lot of money. That resentment turned to anger over the week. They nit picked everything (ie complaining there wasn’t balsamic on the caprese salad to the point the chef came out). Said the vacation was “cookie cutter” and that it is not a trip for intellectual people (direct insult to us since we are platinum on DCL). Screaming at us on Castaway Cay because they didn’t like where we sat. And the list went on and on.

Bottom line NEVER again will we try to convince anyone to join us on a cruise. My mother joins us from time to time but my parents love cruising on RCL so she doesn’t need to be convinced. As someone wrote it’s very different than convincing someone to pay $20 to see a movie or eat at a new restaurant.

 

[auntlynne]

My one complaint about DCL is there's no nightlife on DCL. After about 11 or 12 the ship goes silent.

HaHa - One of the reasons I like DCL. I hear you, though - you are on vacation and there’s no need for a bedtime curfew or designated driver (other than the Captain and officers). They could offer some nighttime activities - but I’ve never seen many people in the lounges when they have dancing after the “late” night adult entertainment.

Which is worse - no entertainment offered or very poorly attended.? (That’s a question, not a comment)

 

[auntlynne]

Don’t do it! We convinced my cousin and her family to cruise DCL with us 6 years ago. We loved hanging out with them, our daughters are the same age, and vacationed with them in the past. They HATED the cruise, made our vacation MISERABLE and as a result we are no longer on speaking terms with them. Literally walked off the ship and went our separate ways. I wouldn’t try hard to convince someone.

So brave to share honestly (Your later post); hope you don’t get flak for it.

Did you cruise again?

 

[JM23457]

Looking back I think the main reason of the anger was the cost. They tend to vacation on the very cheap and it was a lot of money for them. when they didn’t enjoy it, they began to resent the fact that they spend a lot of money. That resentment turned to anger over the week. They nit picked everything...

This. This is why I never try to talk someone into it unless I'm paying for them. If they don't like it, I don't want to be blamed for the waste of their money.

That situation wasn't your fault. They should have stood their ground & not spent the money. They also should not have acted like total jerks after realizing they (not you) made a mistake in going. (And money couldn't have been a truly critical issue to them, anyway, if they could afford to pay for another person to join them just to babysit.)

But this story is a good object lesson for others about what can happen.

 

[Scalemaster34]

I've been on Disney Cruises with others that are either 1st time cruisers or 1st time Disney cruisers.... Not everyone loves Disney Cruises.

Those with kids generally prefer it, but those that have cruised before... do not. For me no gambling is a plus, for others it isn't. For me the dining rotation is great (menus could use updating), but others like to do what they want, when they want. I don't miss not having a "drink package", actually glad there isn't one - but others see it as a negative.

You'd really have to know someone, to know if they'd enjoy the way Disney offers up cruising.

But the pricing is really the hard part, getting where I'm having a hard time convincing myself.

 

[T & R]

My one complaint about DCL is there's no nightlife on DCL. After about 11 or 12 the ship goes silent.

It would be difficult for me to stay out past that. I don't know if it's the sea air or the constant walking 100's of yards back and forth on the ship but by after dinner, I'm exhausted. I don't get it, back in the real world I'm fine but when we spend all the money to get on the ship and you want to try and squeeze every minute out of it, I find myself going to bed way earlier than I would back home.

 

[brentm77]

They are very “spontaneous” and don’t like to do any planning at all or be on a schedule. We didn’t pressure them to do any activities but they didn’t like that they had a dinner seating, had to be back on the boat a certain time, etc. They paid for my aunt to join for babysitting even though I said the girls would be in the club the whole time- which they were (their child insisted on even eating dinner there because she loved it so much while ours at least ate with us in the MDR lol) and they spent more time with her than they expected.

Looking back I think the main reason of the anger was the cost. They tend to vacation on the very cheap and it was a lot of money for them. when they didn’t enjoy it, they began to resent the fact that they spend a lot of money. That resentment turned to anger over the week. They nit picked everything (ie complaining there wasn’t balsamic on the caprese salad to the point the chef came out). Said the vacation was “cookie cutter” and that it is not a trip for intellectual people (direct insult to us since we are platinum on DCL). Screaming at us on Castaway Cay because they didn’t like where we sat. And the list went on and on.

Bottom line NEVER again will we try to convince anyone to join us on a cruise. My mother joins us from time to time but my parents love cruising on RCL so she doesn’t need to be convinced. As someone wrote it’s very different than convincing someone to pay $20 to see a movie or eat at a new restaurant.

Frankly, they don't sound like great people. To ruin someone else's very expensive vacation because they didn't do their research to see if it was a good fit for them (beyond your recommendation), is childish. Then, to insult your intelligence? I would have lost it. At the risk of not being humble, I was at the top of my class in law school. I'm not stupid. And DCL vacations are, by far, my favorite vacations. They are the perfect combination of relaxation, food, entertainment, and disconnection from the real world. They even have the ability to be intellectually stimulating if you pick the right activities in port, but, I have plenty of time for being intellectual in my daily life. Vacation for me is a time to reset my batteries, including my brain. I love not thinking too much for a week! I love that 90% of the vacation is taken care of for me, meaning it doesn't become another project. And, while my experience with other lines is very limited, DCL just fit right for my tastes, activity level, and our (now older teen) children's interests. We will continue to sail them when the children are grown and/or not with us.

Back to the topic of the OP, we gently invited my brother-in-law and sister-in-law on our last cruise, after letting them know how much we loved it. They don't have children. I normally wouldn't do that, but we have a blast traveling with them. It did add a level of stress to the situation, wondering if they would think they wasted their money. But, they loved it so much they asked us to book again next spring, which we were super excited about. Now that it has worked once with the people we really like to travel with (and who can afford it), I won't take my chances again. The pressure for them to like it is just too much.

 

[Lilac36]

They are very “spontaneous” and don’t like to do any planning at all or be on a schedule. We didn’t pressure them to do any activities but they didn’t like that they had a dinner seating, had to be back on the boat a certain time, etc. They paid for my aunt to join for babysitting even though I said the girls would be in the club the whole time- which they were (their child insisted on even eating dinner there because she loved it so much while ours at least ate with us in the MDR lol) and they spent more time with her than they expected.

It sounds like cruising in general isn't right for them. Being back on board the ship at a specific time is one of those basic elements of cruising that you can't get around. Its sad that their child had such a fun time and would have probably enjoyed a repeat cruise. One of the things that I appreciated about DCL was the lack of planning (beyond excursions or classes) because when I sailed on Royal Caribbean we had to book tickets to shows several months ahead of time and were locked out of some shows because we were first time cruisers and didn't expect that. We also had to opt out of the main dining room one night because of a show we really wanted to see and the only time conflicted with our MDR time slot. Of course the pushed us to the extra charge restaurants instead. I appreciated that DCL didn't do anything like that

 

[nancipants]

They are very “spontaneous” and don’t like to do any planning at all or be on a schedule. We didn’t pressure them to do any activities but they didn’t like that they had a dinner seating, had to be back on the boat a certain time, etc.

My in-laws do NOT like to plan, to the point where I get frustrated when they visit and we ask what parks they want to go to and they decide while in the car. I am the opposite, I like to plan out my entire day. Cruises end up being a perfect fit for all of us because they have built-in plans, like dinner and certain port days, but can do whatever they want the rest of the time. Plus they don't have to make many decisions, which I think is the real issue. It's a bummer your cousin's family didn't enjoy it.

 

[Melissa S]

So brave to share honestly (Your later post); hope you don’t get flak for it.

Did you cruise again?

We did . It wasn’t DCL’s fault and luckily we cruised several times before then to know that. We’ve taken 4 cruises since then- we had a much much better time- and are booked for Northern Europe in 2021.