It's the Donnelly's and their Disney Discount (part 2)

[ItsAndrew]

Part 2. Continue the discussion here.

Credit to AlexVause for the thread title (although all that were suggested were good and I had a difficult decision choosing one).

[ItsAndrew]

Honestly, a lot of the amenities on a cruise ship (I have never been on one so going off of what I know about them) are ones you can get at a hotel or elsewhere. Why does this family enjoy being on the cruise so much? On the cruise you're doing things that aren't new or special, but in the cities/countries you are doing things completely new and exploring new places. Uh, hello? Who would choose staying on the cruse over exploring new things? Oh yeah, (some of) this family.

[AlexVause]

Part 2. Continue the discussion here.

Credit to AlexVause for the thread title (although all that were suggested were good and I had a difficult decision choosing one).

The awesome pun was originally from nsf5555, but I take credit for spelling Donnellys wrong. I have no idea why I felt the need to make it possessive. Sorry about that :/

[Guest]

Part 2. Continue the discussion here.

Credit to AlexVause for the thread title (although all that were suggested were good and I had a difficult decision choosing one).

The awesome pun was originally from nsf5555, but I take credit for spelling Donnellys wrong. I have no idea why I felt the need to make it possessive. Sorry about that :/

That damn Donnelly Disney Discount! I like this new title a lot. This family worships Disney like it’s a 2nd religion so it’s only fitting.

And yea, what’s up with some staying behind on the ship? You’re in Italy for Christ sake! Go out and explore. Idk if it’s just being a typical teen or what but these kids (minus Ryan) don’t seem too grateful to be on a European cruise. Who cares if you’re tired? You can sleep during the plane ride home. Or maybe stop going to the teen night club every night. You’ll have so many more opportunities to meet new people your age. You don’t go to Italy everyday...

Personally if I was on the ship, I’d want to go out and explore at every waking opportunity. I’d do all the ship activities while out at sea. I wouldn’t waste my time doing them when we’d be docked somewhere in Europe.


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[Red99]

The thing is money to these kids means nothing so that’s why they can stay on the ship and sleep as they will go on another vacation soon.

[actualloll]

New to this site, but just thought I'd put my two cents in about these frequent holidays this family goes on...

...except they don't strike me as that frequent? My family and I would vacation outside of the country three or four times a year, and I'm not naive enough to understand that there are many families who do not have the means to do this, but realistically if they DO have the means, they are perfectly entitled to spend their money on frequent holidaying. And honestly, I think this is a far more enriching thing to spend money on -cruise or no. It's better than the LeBlancs and their atrocious record of splurging on fake nails, makeup, horses (which they don't ride) and everything else that Annie finds interesting for all of two weeks.

I've seen a lot of comments about how ridiculous it is that they're spending so little time in each destination. This is true, but on the other hand, if you're travelling all the way from the States to see Europe and you've only got a limited amount of time, it seems to be the only way. I actually think that for Europe, the cruise is a good idea because at least they get to maximise the amount of places they get to see. i Of course, the better option would have been to do a longer trip and focus on two or three places, but some families probably prefer the 'organised' aspect of the cruise. They obviously have a history with Disney, so it makes sense they'd choose to do that. Can't say I would find a Disney themed cruise to be at all enjoyable if I was Brennan's age, though..

As for Katie staying on board...perhaps this was her choice? They paid for the holiday...but I'm pretty sure she's not wasting the money by staying on the cruise ship and making the most of its facilities. Admittedly I recoil in shock to think that anyone would prefer to stay in over exploring a new, beautiful city, but I remember doing the same when I was 14 (she will regret it later haha).

I do admit that this family strikes me as one of the more wholesome YT vlogger families out there. Especially when you compare them with their old friends, the LeBlancs, whose questionable (if existent) methods of parenting are borderline neglectful.

[Guest]

New to this site, but just thought I'd put my two cents in about these frequent holidays this family goes on...

...except they don't strike me as that frequent? My family and I would vacation outside of the country three or four times a year, and I'm not naive enough to understand that there are many families who do not have the means to do this, but realistically if they DO have the means, they are perfectly entitled to spend their money on frequent holidaying. And honestly, I think this is a far more enriching thing to spend money on -cruise or no. It's better than the LeBlancs and their atrocious record of splurging on fake nails, makeup, horses (which they don't ride) and everything else that Annie finds interesting for all of two weeks.

I’d say your take on frequency depends on how much you vacation yourself. To you it may not seem like a whole lot (given you vacationed 3-4 times a year) but to someone like me (who hasn’t traveled out of the country in nearly a decade) it seems pretty frequent. It just depends on your perception. Personally I don’t see why anyone needs to go on 3+ cruises a year but it’s whatever.

The LeBlancs really are just something else. Katie and Billy just aren’t good parents period. They may love their daughters with all their might but they’re really just not good parents.

Mike and Jill are great with one thing: Structure. Their kids have jammed pack schedules which keep them quite busy and quite social. That’s beneficial for some. But they aren’t picture perfect. They have some pretty big flaws. And I’ve seen that since I’ve been watching them. Mike is a borderline dictator. Some of his rules (for the boys vs Katie) are kind of crazy. Katie is definitely his favorite. Jill is just...strange. Idk. She just seems sooooo submissive to Mike’s ways. It’s kind of bothersome.

Anyway, highlight of the vlog today was Katie calling Jill mental. I have to admit I lol’d at that.


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[blacksheep95]

New to this site, but just thought I'd put my two cents in about these frequent holidays this family goes on...

Whether they can afford it or not doesn't negate the fact that they do take frequent vacations compared to the average family. They are perfectly entitled to spend their money however they wish, just like we are perfectly entitled to point it out and make snide comments about it. This is Guru Gossip, after all. You're not going to find a lot of praising over here.

Also, Katie did say staying on the cruise was her choice (it'd have been ridiculous if it had been her parents making her stay in), but I do think spending the money on a cruise and on a plane ticket all the way to Europe, to stay inside and have "me time" is a complete waste of money. To do that you could have picked a cruise closer to home or booked a hotel room for a day. Travelling outside the country might not be that big of a deal for Europeans because tickets to other European countries can be relatively cheap (I flew to London and back for 50 euro recently) but it's different for Americans.

[alexmorgan]

"at least they get to maximise the amount of places they get to see"
Whattt? We are talking about europe here? They are on a ship, spending two days at sea, time on land is very limited and ports can be in the middle of nowhere= wasting more time just to get around.
If they had taken their (almost???) 14 days and planned our their own trip they couldve gotten so much more out of their time. Barcelona wouldnt have to be the starting point, but if it was: italys border is 700 km/430 miles away. Change your base every 2-3 days,have a nice journey along the Côte d’Azur and integrate what you want to see in those rides aswell as in your days and voila, you see A LOT. No wasted nights on a ship, no running around because a million things are squeezed into a short excursion.

[lmmomSD]

"at least they get to maximise the amount of places they get to see"
Whattt? We are talking about europe here? They are on a ship, spending two days at sea, time on land is very limited and ports can be in the middle of nowhere= wasting more time just to get around.
If they had taken their (almost???) 14 days and planned our their own trip they couldve gotten so much more out of their time. Barcelona wouldnt have to be the starting point, but if it was: italys border is 700 km/430 miles away. Change your base every 2-3 days,have a nice journey along the Côte d’Azur and integrate what you want to see in those rides aswell as in your days and voila, you see A LOT. No wasted nights on a ship, no running around because a million things are squeezed into a short excursion.

And no disappoinment because you missed what you really wanted to see, and you only had ONE DAY to cram all of the "sights" of Rome into. I couldn't believe the way they were running around trying to see all of what you're "supposed" to see in Rome. I half expected a sped up video of them running around with cartoon music in the background. Vatican-- check. Spanish Steps- check. Trevi Fountain-- check. Colosseum-- check, sortof... It just made me sad.

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[actualloll]

"at least they get to maximise the amount of places they get to see"
Whattt? We are talking about europe here? They are on a ship, spending two days at sea, time on land is very limited and ports can be in the middle of nowhere= wasting more time just to get around.
If they had taken their (almost???) 14 days and planned our their own trip they couldve gotten so much more out of their time. Barcelona wouldnt have to be the starting point, but if it was: italys border is 700 km/430 miles away. Change your base every 2-3 days,have a nice journey along the Côte d’Azur and integrate what you want to see in those rides aswell as in your days and voila, you see A LOT. No wasted nights on a ship, no running around because a million things are squeezed into a short excursion.

Their 'own trip' requires so much more organisation on their part as opposed to having the luxury of enjoying a cruise where itineraries for each place is planned out for them. I'm not saying that I agree with doing that (planning your own itinerary is part of the fun while travelling) but I understand some families enjoy that aspect of the planning being taken off their plate. It's why package, pre-itinerised holidays seem to be a big thing....

[Guest]

I have to say I am a bit surprised none of the kids acknowledged Caleb’s birthday. I wasn’t expecting dedicated posts but I can’t believe they didn’t even make a single comment. Jill was the only one in the family to wish Caleb a happy birthday (on Katie LeBlanc’s post).

I guess the families just aren’t friends anymore but damn, the LeBlancs gave you a platform and name. They’re the reason you have a following. Show some respect. At least Jill said SOMETHING (even if it was for the likes). The Donnelly’s have a following but they don’t seem to grateful about how they got it...


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[lmmomSD]

Was anyone else utterly bored watching Katie and Brennan and their new friends walking around the ship enjoying their privelege and private jokes?

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[blacksheep95]

Was anyone else utterly bored watching Katie and Brennan and their new friends walking around the ship enjoying their privelege and private jokes?

The worst was Jill mentioning that they were emptying the pool because someone had vomited on it (or maybe done something else). Was that really necessary!?

Their 'own trip' requires so much more organisation on their part as opposed to having the luxury of enjoying a cruise where itineraries for each place is planned out for them. I'm not saying that I agree with doing that (planning your own itinerary is part of the fun while travelling) but I understand some families enjoy that aspect of the planning being taken off their plate. It's why package, pre-itinerised holidays seem to be a big thing....

But most of the time they did not seem to follow any itinerary planned for them by the cruise. They were on the boat for 8 days, four of them at sea. In Rome they hired their own guide, in Livorno they did their own thing and only in Naples and France did they join a tour group (though it's unclear if it was organised by the cruise or not).

Personally, I think they should've stayed in Italy. It's the place they all seemed to enjoy the most, especially Ryan. Spending only half a day in France is beyond ridiculous.

Jill annoys me (it's that preschool teacher voice) but I must admit that her relationship with Ryan is pretty cute.

[Guest]

Was anyone else utterly bored watching Katie and Brennan and their new friends walking around the ship enjoying their privelege and private jokes?

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I was, but that’s basically the vlogs when they’re home, especially in the summer. I took it as sort of a preshow as to what we’re coming back to now that these cruise vlogs have ended.

They’re normal kids with normal friends. But I don’t see why it has to be vlogged almost every time they hang out with friends. I’m sure it’s Jill demanding they vlog so she has content to work with while editing. Let them hang with their friends in private. We all have friends we hang out with. Why do there’s need to be vlogged every time?

Or they’re just showing off yet again that they’re on a cruise ship that they were able to board with that Donnelly Disney Discount.


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[lmmomSD]

And sorry for spelling privilege wrong. It's been a long day.

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[Red99]

If the Donnallys are not friends with the LeBlancs anymore than any on earth should they patronize the family by sending fake condolences.

Jill is a adult so it makes sense that she reached out but Annie and Katie are not friends anymore and so to send a message just for the sake of it would be even more insulting.

And then you have the losers who will then make a big deal out of Katie messaging Annie again. Katie is damned if she does and damned is she doesn’t. She simply can’t win.

[Guest]

If the Donnallys are not friends with the LeBlancs anymore than any on earth should they patronize the family by sending fake condolences.

Jill is a adult so it makes sense that she reached out but Annie and Katie are not friends anymore and so to send a message just for the sake of it would be even more insulting.

And then you have the losers who will then make a big deal out of Katie messaging Annie again. Katie is damned if she does and damned is she doesn’t. She simply can’t win.

That’s true. I’m sure Katie messaged Annie in private and said something. I can’t imagine she didn’t say anything at all...

Looks like Katie and Jill are Utah bound. SUU camp round 2 maybe?


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[Guest]

If the Donnallys are not friends with the LeBlancs anymore than any on earth should they patronize the family by sending fake condolences.

Jill is a adult so it makes sense that she reached out but Annie and Katie are not friends anymore and so to send a message just for the sake of it would be even more insulting.

And then you have the losers who will then make a big deal out of Katie messaging Annie again. Katie is damned if she does and damned is she doesn’t. She simply can’t win.

That’s true. I’m sure Katie messaged Annie in private and said something. I can’t imagine she didn’t say anything at all...

Looks like Katie and Jill are Utah bound. SUU camp round 2 maybe?


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[Red99]

If the Donnallys are not friends with the LeBlancs anymore than any on earth should they patronize the family by sending fake condolences.

Jill is a adult so it makes sense that she reached out but Annie and Katie are not friends anymore and so to send a message just for the sake of it would be even more insulting.

And then you have the losers who will then make a big deal out of Katie messaging Annie again. Katie is damned if she does and damned is she doesn’t. She simply can’t win.

That’s true. I’m sure Katie messaged Annie in private and said something. I can’t imagine she didn’t say anything at all...

Looks like Katie and Jill are Utah bound. SUU camp round 2 maybe?


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I wonder if the Mike and the boys have also gone on their boys vacation coz normally they meet up in LA.