What really is the best cruise?

[tierney corbett]

Hey! Just wondering about what the best cruise itinerarys' are from Disney Cruise Line in your opinion. Im hoping to go on a cruise next year! Ive been on a 5-night Bahamas and a 7-night Caribbean already and excited to cruise with Dcl again. Thanks!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hey! Just wondering about what the best cruise itinerarys' are from Disney Cruise Line in your opinion. Im hoping to go on a cruise next year! Ive been on a 5-night Bahamas and a 7-night Caribbean already and excited to cruise with Dcl again. Thanks!

There is no such thing as the "best" cruise. We've taken over 20 cruises and they all rank as "best" in my book. Different reasons for each one.

 

[cruiser21]

For me it would be any cruise that doesn't go to the Bahamas or Caribbean.

 

[MelSpees]

The Panama Canal cruises are awesome!

 

[bobbiwoz]

The Panama Canal cruises are awesome!

I think this would be my choice.

We like Panama Canal cruises so much, we have done 2 partial crossings on Princess besides the full transit on DCL. We had another DCL cruise booked, but an unexpected operation caused us to cancel. We will do the EBPC cruise on DCL for sure one year. The WBPC Cruise on DCL has been our favorite!

 

[mmouse37]

Loved our recent Southern Caribbean but also loved our Panama Canal cruises and our transatlantic cruises.

Actually....I love them all!!!

MJ

 

[DCSWO]

No such thing as a “best” cruise. Everyone is different.

 

[starvenger]

I’ve only been on one bad cruise, in 1987-88. Like The Amazing Race season 8, I pretend it never happened.

Aside from that they’ve all been good.

 

[Shanti]

Hey! Just wondering about what the best cruise itinerarys' are from Disney Cruise Line in your opinion. Im hoping to go on a cruise next year! Ive been on a 5-night Bahamas and a 7-night Caribbean already and excited to cruise with Dcl again. Thanks!

It depends on what you're looking for.

If your goal is a low-stress, comfortable, fun, get-away-from-it-all vacation, then I recommend a winter cruise on the Dream or Fantasy, which are DCL's best ships in terms of the amenities they offer to passengers. Their cruises also always include a stop at Castaway Cay, Disney's private island which is the most stress-free port you'll ever visit. Winter is the dry season in the Bahamas, so you're less likely to have your afternoons rained out if you cruise then, and a vacation to somewhere warm is a delightful escape from the dreary winter cold.

If your goal is an exceptional travel experience (in terms of seeing new places), then I recommend a summer sailing to Alaska or Europe on the Wonder or Magic, respectively, as those lovely ships have the best travel-oriented itineraries.

 

[dcassetta]

If you are particularly a Star Wars or Marvel fan you might check out one of the cruises that includes those as a day at sea. Star Wars is on the Fantasy and Marvel is on the Magic.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

The 2011 Disney Wonder 15 night Panama Canal Cruise by far but, we have a ten night Norwegian Fjord and Iceland cruise coming up. Depart from Copenhagen and disembark in Dover.
If we could take more longer cruises with several sea days these would be the ideal cruise for us.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

As others have said, the best cruise will be the one that interests you the most! We've now done Bahamas, Bermuda, Caribbean, Alaska, French Polynesia and Norway/Iceland/Scotland and we've enjoyed them all for very different reasons. For us, the enjoyment of the cruise comes down to the itinerary and which ship we are on. We've sailed on NCL, DCL and Paul Gauguin with DCL and Paul Gauguin being far and away better cruises than the NCL ones. If you've done Caribbean and Bahamas, I would simply think about what area of the world you'd like to explore next and go from there! Our French Polynesia cruise with Paul Gauguin and our Norway/Iceland/Scotland cruise on DCL Magic were unbelievable experiences. Next on our cruise radar are the Galapagos Islands.

 

[cyclenut]

I get asked that a lot. The answer is, it depends. It depends on what you want out of your cruise vacation and not everyone feels the same about what that is for them. Some want to relax by the pool sipping away at umbrella drinks. Others are much more active. They want action whether it be some sort of sport or just something to go and do. I get antsy. I can't sit for long hours doing nothing. Some value impeccable service while others find that crew coming by to "provide you service" is just annoying. There is no one good answer.

 

[CamColt]

Any cruise that I'm on is the best one for me!

I do agree this is a very subjective question but I would say the Bahamian or Bermuda itinerary out of NY, because I could drive to the port and I will only sail to warm/tropical areas. Unfortunately, having kids and working in a school I am tied to the school calendar and have not been able to make anything out of NY work since 2012. We pretty much stick to Caribbean and Bahamian cruises now.

 

[mocodis]

I would suggest Hawaii, but dcl does not cruise Hawaii very often. Last time few years ago, 10 days, 5 sea days across the pacific, and 5 days to the islands. awesome.

 

[mmouse37]

If you are particularly a Star Wars or Marvel fan you might check out one of the cruises that includes those as a day at sea. Star Wars is on the Fantasy and Marvel is on the Magic.

I really enjoyed our Marvel cruise in October on the Magic....They had a stage show, a USO type show in Promenade Lounge, cool Marvel backdrops, random Marvel character interactions, Marvel character banners all around the ship, they played Marvel movie soundtracks in the halls, etc. We also received the Marvel logo runner on the bed. I really enjoyed it.

MJ

 

[tidefan]

It depends on what you're looking for.

If your goal is a low-stress, comfortable, fun, get-away-from-it-all vacation, then I recommend a winter cruise on the Dream or Fantasy, which are DCL's best ships in terms of the amenities they offer to passengers. Their cruises also always include a stop at Castaway Cay, Disney's private island which is the most stress-free port you'll ever visit. Winter is the dry season in the Bahamas, so you're less likely to have your afternoons rained out if you cruise then, and a vacation to somewhere warm is a delightful escape from the dreary winter cold.

If your goal is an exceptional travel experience (in terms of seeing new places), then I recommend a summer sailing to Alaska or Europe on the Wonder or Magic, respectively, as those lovely ships have the best travel-oriented itineraries.

Agree with most all of this, though the one thing I might add is that if you are looking to enjoy Castaway Cay, we find the experience much better on the classic ships. There is a very noticeable difference with 2,600 people on the island vs. 4,000... Plus, it easier to get a Cabana if you are platinum

 

[tidefan]

Our favorite so far was the 2015 DVC Member cruise to Alaska, but they have all been great and I can't say that we've had a bad one...

 

[Shanti]

Agree with most all of this, though the one thing I might add is that if you are looking to enjoy Castaway Cay, we find the experience much better on the classic ships. There is a very noticeable difference with 2,600 people on the island vs. 4,000... Plus, it easier to get a Cabana if you are platinum

I've done Castaway Cay from both kinds of ships, and have never noticed a major difference myself.

 

[tidefan]

I've done Castaway Cay from both kinds of ships, and have never noticed a major difference myself.

We have always noticed a big difference. Especially if you are "late" getting off of the ship. For instance, I always run the Castaway Cay 5k, then go back to the boat to change, then go back out to the island. By the time I get back out there, it is often 10:30-11:00. On the Dream or Fantasy, good luck getting a decent area on the beach. However, we find that there are always plenty of spots when we have been there on the Magic. YMMV...