Advice with first Cruise.

[DisneyDoug85]

Hi all, I'm looking for advice/help with planning our first family cruise. We're heading to Disney this october for 7 nights, so this cruise will be for next fall preferably in november so that we can enjoy christmas decor. (i assume they decorate around the same time as the parks do?) At first i was leaning toward doing a land and sea vacation with a 4 night cruise and 2 or 3 nights in Disney, but now I'm leaning toward the 7 night Western Caribbean cruise.

Im wondering how that sounds to people that have experience with the cruises, and maybe more specifically whats best for kids? My kids will be age 6 1/2 and just about 3 by next fall. Is there a specific ship i should look for, what location on the ship should we have our room? Whats the weather like typically in november/december? Anything else to look for would be great as i am completely new to planning a cruise. thanks so much for any help!!!

 

[imahistorygeek]

I would bookend a WDW trip for a smaller cruise for your first one. I say this because if you've never cruised before, you may not know how you or your family deals with sea sickness. My DH and I felt a little queasy on a 3-night, but are now used to it. If you end up with a 7-night and some in your party doesn't handle it well, it's going to be a very long trip. We took our daughter on a 3-night a few months ago. She's never been prone to any type of motion sickness. She said she felt sick the entire time and it lessened her enjoyment. My point is, try a shorter cruise first and see how that goes and then go for the longer cruise.

 

[rob0519]

Our first cruise was a 4 night on the Wonder. It was all we could afford at the time. Honestly, the time went by so fast, it seemed like a two night cruise. With the shore excursions and Castaway Cay, we didn't have enough time to take advantage of even half of what the ship had to offer. So my advice would be to take the 7 night cruise.

 

[Hakunamatata]

Get with your doctor in advance of the cruise and see if they will prescribe a patch for motion sickness. Start it before your cruise so you become acclimated to any drowsy affect.

 

[DisneyDoug85]

I would bookend a WDW trip for a smaller cruise for your first one. I say this because if you've never cruised before, you may not know how you or your family deals with sea sickness. My DH and I felt a little queasy on a 3-night, but are now used to it. If you end up with a 7-night and some in your party doesn't handle it well, it's going to be a very long trip. We took our daughter on a 3-night a few months ago. She's never been prone to any type of motion sickness. She said she felt sick the entire time and it lessened her enjoyment. My point is, try a shorter cruise first and see how that goes and then go for the longer cruise.

Thank you for your input, i will certainly take that into consideration. Its just that i like the destinations of the 7 night cruises more than the 3 or 4 night. But, you're right, if someone is sea sick none of the destinations with be very fun lol. thank you!!

 

[DisneyDoug85]

Our first cruise was a 4 night on the Wonder. It was all we could afford at the time. Honestly, the time went by so fast, it seemed like a two night cruise. With the shore excursions and Castaway Cay, we didn't have enough time to take advantage of even half of what the ship had to offer. So my advice would be to take the 7 night cruise.

this is another thing I'm worried about, i don't want it to go by so quickly that we feel like we missed everything. i realize that even on a 7 day trip you probably can't get everything done, but that extra time is valuable. thank you!

 

[DisneyDoug85]

Get with your doctor in advance of the cruise and see if they will prescribe a patch for motion sickness. Start it before your cruise so you become acclimated to any drowsy affect.

thats a great idea, they'll do that for kids as well? We have been on boats for a little, hours at a time or so. Never had any problems, but being on one for 7 days is completely different. i can't imagine that a ship that size "moves" around too much does it? Thanks for the great idea!

 

[Hakunamatata]

thats a great idea, they'll do that for kids as well? We have been on boats for a little, hours at a time or so. Never had any problems, but being on one for 7 days is completely different. i can't imagine that a ship that size "moves" around too much does it? Thanks for the great idea!

Not sure. My wife had some issues with ongoing nausea earlier this year and the dr prescribed them. He said they generally prescribe them for people who cruise that have seasick issues. They go behind the ear and are replaced every three days. It keeps a consistent amount of medication in the system. I would think they would have dosage sizes for kids. You might ask your local pharmacist.

We are doing our first cruise next June and plan on getting them.

 

[DisneyJoe]

i can't imagine that a ship that size "moves" around too much does it?

We tend to feel the movement the most on the first night and sometimes the last night when they are moving the ship out of port to the open seas or vice versa. Of the 4 of us, only my 13yo son gets slightly nauseous on those nights, and sometimes it just takes him an hour or two sitting in the stateroom with some ginger ale and crackers to settle his stomach. Once he does that, he is fine for the rest of the cruise. The seabands (wrist bands) never worked for him.

I have a few friends that start taking Dramamine daily the day before they cruise and then continue throughout the cruise and they are fine.

 

[ScoutN]

this is another thing I'm worried about, i don't want it to go by so quickly that we feel like we missed everything. i realize that even on a 7 day trip you probably can't get everything done, but that extra time is valuable. thank you!

If you are concerned about that already... Book the seven night.

 

[DisneyDoug85]

With a 3 year old, how much is there to do at the different locations? Or would we basically be spending our time just relaxing at the beach or wandering the area? So basically, are there plenty of the port adventures etc that i could do with a young child? Just so i know what to plan for/expect. Also, the one I'm looking at in particular is on the Disney Fantasy cruise ship...im sure they're all great, but i know some people have their preferences. How is the Fantasy?

 

[DisneyJoe]

With a 3 year old, how much is there to do at the different locations? Or would we basically be spending our time just relaxing at the beach or wandering the area? So basically, are there plenty of the port adventures etc that i could do with a young child? Just so i know what to plan for/expect. Also, the one I'm looking at in particular is on the Disney Fantasy cruise ship...im sure they're all great, but i know some people have their preferences. How is the Fantasy?

Do a Google search for the Personal Navigators, there are a few sites that post them, browse them for all of the onboard activities, they also have inserts for each port, although they don't list the port adventures.

 

[ScoutN]

With a 3 year old, how much is there to do at the different locations? Or would we basically be spending our time just relaxing at the beach or wandering the area? So basically, are there plenty of the port adventures etc that i could do with a young child? Just so i know what to plan for/expect. Also, the one I'm looking at in particular is on the Disney Fantasy cruise ship...im sure they're all great, but i know some people have their preferences. How is the Fantasy?

All of the Disney ships are phenomenal. Many crew members can be rotated through the various vessels when their contracts are renewed. That aspect will nearly guarantee the same level of service across the fleet. Over five DCL trips the last two and a half years we have yet to experience any service that would be even remotely considered sub-par.

The classic ships have a much different feel than that of the DREAM-Class ships. I have done both with trips currently booked on a classic and DREAM-Class.

We have seen families with small kids on all of the ones we have done and they all seem to be enjoying themselves immensely. I cannot comment on what there is to do on them with small kids because we do not have any.

 

[EOD K9]

All of the Disney ships are phenomenal. Many crew members can be rotated through the various vessels when their contracts are renewed. That aspect will nearly guarantee the same level of service across the fleet. Over five DCL trips the last two and a half years we have yet to experience any service that would be even remotely considered sub-par.

The classic ships have a much different feel than that of the DREAM-Class ships. I have done both with trips currently booked on a classic and DREAM-Class.

We have seen families with small kids on all of the ones we have done and they all seem to be enjoying themselves immensely. I cannot comment on what there is to do on them with small kids because we do not have any.

Because of timing and budget we have only ever done 3 and 4 nights. Next June we are doing a 5 night with two stops at Castaway Cay. To expand on crew members, I have had the same crew members remember my daughters from March of 2015 and December of 2015 on the Dream, then in March of 2016 a CM that was on the Dream from March remembered our daughters when we were on the Magic.
My daughters were ten months on their first cruise and twenty-two months on their third. They loved being in the nursery. They had an absolute blast and thoroughly enjoyed all of their character interactions. I was very apprehensive going on a four night cruise as I had no idea what to expect. Once we found out how much we enjoyed them, four is not enough, but is a good starter trip. The family and I usually will spend a night on either end of the trip at a DVC resort just to stay in the magic a tad longer. Hope that helps.

 

[DisneyDoug85]

Because of timing and budget we have only ever done 3 and 4 nights. Next June we are doing a 5 night with two stops at Castaway Cay. To expand on crew members, I have had the same crew members remember my daughters from March of 2015 and December of 2015 on the Dream, then in March of 2016 a CM that was on the Dream from March remembered our daughters when we were on the Magic.
My daughters were ten months on their first cruise and twenty-two months on their third. They loved being in the nursery. They had an absolute blast and thoroughly enjoyed all of their character interactions. I was very apprehensive going on a four night cruise as I had no idea what to expect. Once we found out how much we enjoyed them, four is not enough, but is a good starter trip. The family and I usually will spend a night on either end of the trip at a DVC resort just to stay in the magic a tad longer. Hope that helps.

Yeah i am stuck between wanting a decent "starter cruise" (3-4 nights), and not wanting it to not be long enough so just going right for the 7 night.
Thats pretty cool about the crew members remembering your daughter, thats the type of thing that you can't find anywhere else besides disney. Thanks for your help!

 

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

We did a 7-night for our first cruise and have a 4-night coming up. I knew I might have motion sickness issues so I called my doctor to have a patch prescribed and it worked great. Our 7-night cruise flew by so I can't even imagine how fast our 4-night will feel. I'd say just go for the 7-night-you'll have better destinations and have more time to experience the ship.

 

[ScoutN]

We did a 7-night for our first cruise and have a 4-night coming up. I knew I might have motion sickness issues so I called my doctor to have a patch prescribed and it worked great. Our 7-night cruise flew by so I can't even imagine how fast our 4-night will feel. I'd say just go for the 7-night-you'll have better destinations and have more time to experience the ship.

Seven goes quick. Four goes fast. Three goes insanely rapid.

There are different vibes on all the different lengths, as well.

 

[ChuckElias]

Yeah i am stuck between wanting a decent "starter cruise" (3-4 nights), and not wanting it to not be long enough so just going right for the 7 night.

Hi Doug, as you can tell, it's a very personal decision about the length that people would recommend for a first cruise. Here's my two cents. If you KNOW that your whole family loves WDW, but you're not sure if everyone will love the cruise, then I would highly recommend that you go with your first thought: 3 nights at WDW, combined with a 4 night cruise. It's very easy to arrange both with transfers. (You could do it yourself or have your travel agent do it for you.)

If, however, you do a little research and you decide that there's plenty for everyone to do and the whole family will enjoy the experience, then go with the longer sailing. You'll have more time to get used to the ship, see different shows, and you won't have to get off the ship in Nassau

If you told me that I could do only one trip during the year -- either a 7-night DCL sailing OR a land-and-sea combo -- I would be sad to miss out on WDW, but I would choose the longer itinerary. It's that good. But the answer for you really depends on your family.

Thats pretty cool about the crew members remembering your daughter, thats the type of thing that you can't find anywhere else besides disney. Thanks for your help!

On my last Disney cruise, we ran into a crew member (Inyo, he's a restaurant server) on Embarkation Day. We hadn't seen him for probably 3 or 4 years, and the first words out of his mouth were, "Where's Grandma?" He realized that my mother-in-law wasn't traveling with us and she had really liked him. We also had a crew member ask us about my dad one year, and we had to tell him that my dad had died; and the guy was genuinely sad. It amazes me how these people remember us time and time again, when they see so many thousands of faces every month.

 

[DisneyDoug85]

We did a 7-night for our first cruise and have a 4-night coming up. I knew I might have motion sickness issues so I called my doctor to have a patch prescribed and it worked great. Our 7-night cruise flew by so I can't even imagine how fast our 4-night will feel. I'd say just go for the 7-night-you'll have better destinations and have more time to experience the ship.

Thanks for your input! i think we are definitely gonna go for the 7 night. Like you said, one of our biggest reasons for doing so is the extra (and seemingly) better destinations. Thanks again!

 

[DisneyDoug85]

Seven goes quick. Four goes fast. Three goes insanely rapid.

There are different vibes on all the different lengths, as well.

i think we're going to go ahead and do the 7. yeah its risky being our first cruise and all, but we'll just have to prepare with motion sickness meds etc. I think we'll have a blast! Thank you!