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9/4/14

Disney Cruise

Last fall, our family joined my parents and my sister's family for a Disney Cruise. We're cruise veterans; this was my 16th cruise and Trevor's 6th. We're also Disney fanatics. Our love of cruises and our love of Disney should have added up to make this trip the best vacation ever. There were a lot of things to love: the ship was gorgeous, the staterooms were enormous, and the onboard amenities were so cool. The ports we visited were nice and the weather was perfect.

But, having cruised with many different cruise lines, we've learned that each line has many things that make it distinct. Those distinctions can make or break a cruise experience. Disney Cruises turned out to not be a good fit for our family. We enjoyed the cruise, but we all knew within the first 3 days that we would probably not be cruising with Disney again. There are other lines that serve much better food (a big priority for Steve and me), have better entertainment (surprising that Disney wasn't top-notch in this regard), and provide more opportunities for families to spend time together (as opposed to Disney's efforts to provide something for each member of the family to do... separately). We really disliked that Disney would lock lounges that weren't actively being used for programming; it meant that we couldn't find a place for our group of 9 to gather to play games or just hang out.

I really struggled with how to scrap the cruise. We did have a good time, so I didn't want to be too negative, but I also wanted to at least touch on the fact that our first cruise with Disney would probably be our last. I ended up with this:


The photos highlight the best of our trip, while the journaling mentions the things we loved as well as the things we didn't. I'm happy with how it turned out.

12 comments:

  1. Julie Tucker-WolekSeptember 4, 2014 at 5:29 AM

    That is a total bummer!!!!! I loveeeeeee your lo though!! LOVING the photos!!!!!

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  2. Mary Pat SiehlSeptember 4, 2014 at 6:34 AM

    great layout!
    a cruise is on my bucket list

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  3. Tanya NapierSeptember 4, 2014 at 9:14 AM

    Wow, I'm really surprised the entertainment wasn't up to Disney standards! We are big Disney fans, but haven't taken this cruise yet. We haven't taken the kids on a cruise at all.
    I like the clean look of your layout.

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    1. Cindy deRosierSeptember 4, 2014 at 9:32 AM

      The entertainment wasn't bad at all - it just wasn't amazing. We were expecting so much more.

      Delete
  4. Doreen VasquezSeptember 4, 2014 at 9:55 AM

    Oh wow! I'm surprised! My family and I LOVED the Disney cruise we went on! In fact we want to go on another! We loved the food! In fact I gained 7 pounds on our cruise, LOL! Also the entertainment was one of our favorite parts of the cruise.
    Bummer it wasn't so great for your family!

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    1. Cindy deRosierSeptember 4, 2014 at 11:26 AM

      We were served food with freezer burn more than once. It was really disappointing.

      Delete
  5. Tanya HamSeptember 4, 2014 at 11:20 AM

    I love this layout! All the photos really capture the whole trip - scenic shots, groups, fun things - I can't imagine you picking any more perfect! My SIL's family took a Disney cruise earlier this summer and they enjoyed it. My niece was over the moon with all the princess dress up fun! :)

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    1. Cindy deRosierSeptember 4, 2014 at 11:25 AM

      Yeah, we're not into the princess-dress-up thing, or character autographs, both of which were huge on the ship. Like I said, we enjoyed it, it just wasn't as good a fit for our family as some of the other cruise lines we've done have been.

      Delete
  6. Izzy AndersonSeptember 5, 2014 at 1:37 PM

    I think you should do a blog post about cruises because now you have me really curious about what might be advantages or disadvantages of particular cruise lines. I have only taken one cruise, not Disney, and with friends not family. It was fine. I didn't love it though. The whole experience felt claustrophobic to me! Love your layout. Great way to capture the vacation.

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    1. Cindy deRosierSeptember 5, 2014 at 2:02 PM

      I'm happy to share my experiences with particular cruise lines to friends who ask, but I'll leave it to the experts to do a proper compare/contrast of all the various cruise lines. There are so many factors that make a huge difference, probably the most significant being whether or not you're traveling with a child (and what age that child is). Then, there are so many other factors, like how you prefer to spend your time. I like a ship with a game room and a library, things that I suspect many cruise passengers wouldn't care one bit about. I love contests, scavenger hunts, cooking demonstrations, behind-the-scenes tours, classes, art projects, educational lectures, and all sorts of things like that. I rarely use the pool, don't gamble, don't work out, don't sunbathe, don't visit bars, go to bed early, and always travel as part of a 3-generation family. I'm not necessarily the typical cruiser. :)

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  7. Sharon FritchmanSeptember 7, 2014 at 6:57 AM

    Thank you for letting us know the positives and negatives about your Disney cruise experience. We probably will not be going on a Disney cruise and my husband and I did have our doubts about it. My family, like yours, seems to like the same things that you do, and probably would not like their cruise. I absolutely love the 2-page layout that you made with all of your wonderful photos. I have been on 2 cruise lines prior to meeting my husband - QE2, which was amazing, and Princess, which I enjoyed very much, too. Both offered all of the fun things that you mentioned above! (That was 25 years ago!)

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  8. yyamSeptember 7, 2014 at 11:26 PM

    Hmmmm...cruise veteran. I have never been on a cruise...flying is more my thing...lol. Love the end product though...great photo collage.

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