7 night Eastern or Western Caribbean (from portCan)

[heathertwins]

Loved your forums when I booked out Magic Kingdom trip and now deciding on our FIRST DISNEY CRUISE. I have read over the various FaQs but I still feel at a loss on which ship to choose and where. We are a family of 5 and we are looking at Dec. 2015 for a 7 day cruise. Three kids ages 6 and twins that are 8 yrs old -- all girls. I would have wished for a more guaranteed warmer time of year, but I'm just happy to be looking at booking a trip.

1. Eastern or Western Caribbean (all out of port Canaveral Only) ?

2. What is the cost of a concierge for our room -- a family suite or do I need to book a different area of the ship to have that option ? How much more and is it worth it ?

3. will they make a special meal -- say a favourite of my daughters, or a special beer for my husband, how could I make this happen ?

4. Where did you stay overnight the night before ? I've read on here the hassle of the car rental returns so I'm thinking of a shuttle. Do I do the cheapest Disney resort ?

5. Any activities you would ADD or avoid for kids my ages (6-8 yr old) from your experiences. I'm writing them all down.

Thanks for any tid bits of information you might have for me,

Heather

 

[DisneyJoe]

If you want a 7 night cruise in December 2015 to the Caribbean, you can only sail the Disney Fantasy out of Port Canaveral. The Disney Magic sails in December, but only 5 night itineraries from Miami.

Cost will vary based on the sail date and the stateroom that you choose.

I like staying at the Hyatt Regency in the Orlando Airport the night before, as they have arrangements with DCL for luggage.

 

[MaryJaneP]

Have to agree with DisneyJoe in that port and schedule/itinerary (and cost) tend to dictate what cruise to take, not what ship you want to take. We have been lucky to be on the Magic and Fantasy. In our opinion, except for real experts, it would be hard to really differentiate between the ships. Our experiences were similar, most of the pictures we see here online are very similar, we would guess if plunked down amid-ship in any one of the 4 DCL ships, many would have trouble deciding which ship was which. Of course, the decorations, layout, and procedures vary slightly. However, it seems much more important for your crew to match a time and port. Thus your choices may be pre-determined by what is available that meets your requirements. BTW, we are a family of 5 that had a deluxe stateroom with veranda each cruise and we were rarely in our room. If you become an aficionado, getting onboard each DCL ship may be a goal worth pursuing, realizing getting each ship may mean you compromise port, itinerary, excursions. We hope you and your crew enjoy your cruise as much as we enjoyed our cruises.

 

[heathertwins]

Thanks !! Despite reading numerous posts so far, you explained it really well --- I didn't realise how similar each ship is. The Hyatt sounds great, we will look to book that hotel. The reason I thought of the concierge rooms is that we will be trying to have my parents and possibly another family of 5 on the ship with us, and I wasn't sure if we needed the extra help that a concierge room would offer.
I've read about the pirate night, pillow cases, mid-ship detective, blue lagoon. How do I find out if our ship will be having Fireworks ?

 

[ChuckElias]

How do I find out if our ship will be having Fireworks ?

Unless you're sailing an Alaskan or Baltic itinerary, you will have fireworks.

 

[heathertwins]

wow the concierge rooms are double the price !! I believe I can take that off the list.

 

[StageFrenzy]

wow the concierge rooms are double the price !! I believe I can take that off the list.

You can and should unless you need/want the room.

 

[PixieDustMamma]

If you end up doing the Western and go to Cozumel, the beach break at Playa Mia is AMAZING! We went with our two girls, 9 months and 7 years and it was our favorite excursion of the entire trip!