A Reluctant Cruiser
Taking and enjoying a Disney cruise with kids
I have never seen the allure of family cruises. I’ve opted for planes, trains and automobiles every time, thinking hitting the ground closer to the action would put me in the position to learn more. More about the culture, more about the people, more about the history…but a week spent on a recent Disney cruise taught me there might be something worth learning about just as much or more as far flung architecture, wines and cobblestones: my little guy.
The kid has an admittedly skewed perspective on life, being toted around here and there and everywhere for the past seven years. Although he’s just another floopy kid running the wrong way on a soccer field or taking the ultimate pride in catching a pop fly in kickball, when pressed he would say his favorite things to do for fun would be to go to an art museum or a Broadway show. I suggest a cool local summer camp, he begs to go to Italy instead (I took him on Scott’s Pizza Tours of Little Italy in nearby NYC as a compromise).
So despite hearing rave reviews from other parents about the Disney cruises, I wasn’t sure it would be our thing. But I’m a sucker for a travel deal, or any deal for that matter, so when airfares (briefly) plummeted and I saw a great price on a 7-day with a $99 4-day to-be-used-within-a-year promo, I decided not to miss the boat.
I still worried that, as travelers, it would isolate us from the real deal. To be honest, it did. But in the best way.
I put off getting on the boat until the last possible moment, wanting to avoid getting trapped on a boat full of strangers as long as possible. I did the one way car rental from the airport (often a super cheap option) and we hit Kennedy Space Center en route– a particularly cool experience since there was a shuttle landing that day. We wandered through the exhibits, listening to the loudspeakers relaying the real time conversations between Houston and the approaching shuttle as it zoomed through the atmosphere. This was topped off by lunch with a real astronaut, something kiddo still talks about.
The car rental shuttle dropped us off into a completely deserted loading pavilion. Although we had a half hour to spare, it seemed every other family had jumped on the ability to board the boat three hours earlier. We handed our passports to a freakishly happy and excited woman, who walked us over to an equally freakishly happy and excited photog for our ship id’s, who handed us over to a freakishly hap–well, you get the picture. Kiddo whispered that they must be going on the cruise, too.
We boarded to high fives and w
oo-hooing ‘cast members’ and went up to the top deck where kids and parents alike were dancing like fools to steel drums alongside Goofy, Mickey and crew as confetti fluttered through the air. I looked down at kiddo grinning the biggest grin I’d ever seen, heard the ship’s steam horn blast ‘when you wish upon a staaar’ and what can I say, I drank the Kool-Aid. Or the fruity pina colada handed to me, as it were.
Yes, that was us doing the ‘thriller’ dance in piratewear on the top deck. Yes, that was us G-rated trash talking the wonderful family we dined with, while racing our newly built vegetable cars. Yes, that was us sporting the matching Donald Duck be-hind hats in the trivia contest. Yes, that was even us singing a karaoke “Zippity Doo Dah,” for shame.
As for the islands, we blew off the organized trips and explored on our own. To be honest, we didn’t want to leave the boat. I was so impressed, I booked a transatlantic trip while onboard – giving us fifteen days of gloriously ‘Goofy’ bonding while kiddo is still young enough to think I’m cool.
Come boarding time, you can bet we’ll be the first ones on the boat.
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April 1st, 2010 | by Sascha Zuger 13 comments
1. Virginia bed and breakfast | Victorian inn bed and breakfast | Romantic bed and breakfasts on April 1st, 2010
We also like the boat tour. In our last boat trip my son was excited and did not want to leave it. We really enjoyed and got an unforgettable boat tour experience. Right now we are also planning for boat tour but confuse about choosing destination.
Best Regards,
2. Amy @ pitstops for kids on April 1st, 2010
As another traveler who can’t decide if cruises are right for our family, I really enjoyed this review. I have the same misgivings you mention: the strangers on the boat, the isolation from the ‘real’ travel exerience, etc. But you make such a great point about using the time to immerse yourself in your child’s happiness, that it makes me want to ‘drink the Kool-aid’ too!
3. Amy @ The Q Family on April 1st, 2010
Well, what can I say? I got the Kool-aid many years ago. :) Glad to see you opened to the new experience.
I think that’s the real meaning of travel is to experience. And sometimes the experience might not be what you used to or what you prefer. But it will open us up to see others in a more understanding way. It’s the stepping out of our comfort zone that’s scary and exciting at the same time.
4. Sascha on April 1st, 2010
Thanks for the rec, Virginia B&B — considering the number of Lego cruise ships that have sailed across the living room in the months since– and catching a pretty cool Science Channel “How Do They Do It” on the massive Disney Wonder dry dock process — I think the boat tour is definitely on our hit list next trip.
Sascha
5. Sascha on April 1st, 2010
Thanks so much, Amy. I honestly went into the trip with a pretty high level of skepticism and a carry-on full of magazines and NYT Crossword books for survival. Never cracked a one. Well…did bring the crosswords to do poolside in the grownuppy section one afternoon, but ended up too immersed in watching the sweat slide down my Pina Colada glass to bother and used my pen to secure my hairknot updo for when I hit the jacuzzi instead.
For our upcoming trip, I asked kid what he was most looking forward to — expecting mention of the endless daily supply of roasted chicken breast and Mickey Dove-Bar-knock-offs (king of the picky eaters), maybe Mediterranean ports or the waterslide. Nope — “Two whole weeks with only you!” eyes all wide with wonder at the thought. Sometimes a vacation from life can be a kid’s dream destination.
Slow boat to China, indeed.
6. Sascha on April 1st, 2010
Thanks, Amy@Q — so true about opening up. It can be too easy to slip into preconceived notions about a certain type of travel or certain destination. I dreaded going to Maui on business once upon a time– had it in my head would be a trite over-commercialized place packed full of smarmy honeymooners. Sure, there were a few folks in matching kissing humuhumunukunukuapua’a T-shirts proclaiming, “Just Maui’d!” but it was also this amazing and authentic place where you could travel twenty minutes away from the few hubs of hotel-land and submerse yourself in the island’s natural beauty w/nary a tourist in sight. Changed my life.
I probably rolled my eyes more times than I’d care to admit at the idea of a cruise like this, without ever setting foot on board. I do think that who you share the boat with makes a huge difference, but these were really nice families, with good, polite kids who took turns and the time to include and help out younger ones. Very pleasant surprise.
7. Jamie Pearson on April 1st, 2010
There’s just something so sweet about letting kids be kids, isn’t there? My well-traveled 8-year-old and I just did a character dinner in Orlando and I was surprised to see how eagerly he leaped up to be photographed with Shrek and Scooby.
Just because you enjoy out of the way towns in Croatia or the Catskills, doesn’t mean you can’t also enjoy people in huge animal costumes.
8. Sascha on April 1st, 2010
Wait…there are people in there?!?
9. jessica on April 2nd, 2010
I still have not recovered from watching the movie “The Poseidon Adventure”.
10. MJ’s Travel Favorites 4-4-10 | Traveling with MJ on April 4th, 2010
[...] Travel Savvy Mom debunks some of the myths around cruising and theme parks. Sometimes it’s okay to just have fun, and a Disney cruise may be just what the kids want. [...]
11. Rachael on April 13th, 2010
Try a house boat next vacation its like a cruise except without all the frills!
12. Jamie Pearson on May 1st, 2010
Houseboating is another vacation I wasn’t sure I would like. I was wrong: http://www.travelsavvymom.com/blog/family-travel/tips-for-first-time-houseboaters/
13. Sascha on May 3rd, 2010
Thanks, Rachael — after reading about Jamie’s experience, I might give something similar a try this summer.
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