Cruise out of Miami next April

[CB2@disney]

Hello all, It's been a while since I've been here. We had a great trip at WDW over New Years and now I'm ready to start planning the next trip. Which is going to be another cruise as I'm on the cruise forum. So, we've only ever done one cruise and it was on the Dream to the Bahamas during it first year. I found a cruise that fits my budget and my son's spring break next year in April 2014 to the Western Caribbean. It goes out of Miami and is 5 nights and on the Wonder. It goes to Cozumel Mexico, Castaway Cay and back to Miami. I've saved the cruise and I'm checking with my boss to make sure I can go then. I only have a few days before I have to put down the deposit. What do I need to know? Is this ship ok, where do we want to be, I know I want a portal room any tricks, is this time of year ok, has anyone done a cruise with Disney out of Miami, what should we do it Cozumel, what should we pack? Answers to any or all questions above would be appreciated. Just two of us going me and my 12yrs old son. Thanks in advance!

 

[ChuckElias]

I will try to get to all the questions, but the most important thing is: get your deposit down as soon as possible. The prices will only go up, especially since it is school vacation week. If you change your mind and decide on Disney World instead, or if your boss says that you can't have that week off, you can cancel the reservation and get ALL your money back up to 75 days before your sailing. So, call Tammy (or me, but I don't like to compete against Kingdom Konsultants) TODAY and make the reservation.

Ok, the Magic is a GREAT ship. I've done 8 cruises on the Magic and love it. It doesn't have all the technology of the Dream and Fantasy, but it's getting a HUGE make-over this fall, so it will be in great condition with lots of new things to do and see. So I wouldn't worry about that.

Where you want to be depends on your budget and what kind of stateroom you want. We almost always have a verandah, and we think it's worth the extra money, but not everybody does. We've had an ocean view cabin on the very low decks and we've had verandahs on Decks 6 and 7. We've never been disappointed, to be honest. It really depends on what kind of room you hope to have.

The time of year is PERFECT for a Caribbean cruise. We just got off our cruise two weeks ago and had fantastic weather and mostly calm seas. You won't be disappointed with mid-April.

I'll check back to see if anyone else has chimed in and then give any other thoughts. Mostly, my thought is, "you're gonna love it"!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Hello all, It's been a while since I've been here. We had a great trip at WDW over New Years and now I'm ready to start planning the next trip. Which is going to be another cruise as I'm on the cruise forum. So, we've only ever done one cruise and it was on the Dream to the Bahamas during it first year. I found a cruise that fits my budget and my son's spring break next year in April 2014 to the Western Caribbean. It goes out of Miami and is 5 nights and on the Wonder. It goes to Cozumel Mexico, Castaway Cay and back to Miami. I've saved the cruise and I'm checking with my boss to make sure I can go then. I only have a few days before I have to put down the deposit. What do I need to know? Is this ship ok, where do we want to be, I know I want a portal room any tricks, is this time of year ok, has anyone done a cruise with Disney out of Miami, what should we do it Cozumel, what should we pack? Answers to any or all questions above would be appreciated. Just two of us going me and my 12yrs old son. Thanks in advance!

Next cruise! Woo hoo!

I think Chuck misread and thought you said the Magic, but the Wonder is still a great ship. I'm booked on it the month after you are looking at doing it.

Do you want an ocean view? Is that what you mean by portal? If so, the biggest tip I would give there is to avoid deck 1. The port holes are smaller on Deck 1.

The weather should be great as Chuck said.

 

[okw2006]

Hello all, It's been a while since I've been here. We had a great trip at WDW over New Years and now I'm ready to start planning the next trip. Which is going to be another cruise as I'm on the cruise forum. So, we've only ever done one cruise and it was on the Dream to the Bahamas during it first year. I found a cruise that fits my budget and my son's spring break next year in April 2014 to the Western Caribbean. It goes out of Miami and is 5 nights and on the Wonder. It goes to Cozumel Mexico, Castaway Cay and back to Miami. I've saved the cruise and I'm checking with my boss to make sure I can go then. I only have a few days before I have to put down the deposit. What do I need to know? Is this ship ok, where do we want to be, I know I want a portal room any tricks, is this time of year ok, has anyone done a cruise with Disney out of Miami, what should we do it Cozumel, what should we pack? Answers to any or all questions above would be appreciated. Just two of us going me and my 12yrs old son. Thanks in advance!

You and I have been looking at the same cruise. We are tired of going to Nassau so we have been looking at the April 27, 2014 Wonder cruise from Miami to Cozumel and Castaway Cay and back. We have never cruised out of Miami but should be ok. I saw somewhere that the parking is kind of scattered and a little walking might be in store. We plan to book it on board when we leave Sunday on the Dream. Hope to see you there!

 

[ChuckElias]

Next cruise! Woo hoo!

I think Chuck misread and thought you said the Magic, but the Wonder is still a great ship

D'oh!!! Yup, I was so excited to talk about the Magic re-furb that I forgot that we were talking about the Wonder!! Also a great ship. Been on it many times as well, most recently to Alaska in 2011. Definitely worth booking. (Make your deposit today, even if you think you might have to cancel!!)

 

[CB2@disney]

I will try to get to all the questions, but the most important thing is: get your deposit down as soon as possible. The prices will only go up, especially since it is school vacation week. If you change your mind and decide on Disney World instead, or if your boss says that you can't have that week off, you can cancel the reservation and get ALL your money back up to 75 days before your sailing. So, call Tammy (or me, but I don't like to compete against Kingdom Konsultants) TODAY and make the reservation.

Ok, the Magic is a GREAT ship. I've done 8 cruises on the Magic and love it. It doesn't have all the technology of the Dream and Fantasy, but it's getting a HUGE make-over this fall, so it will be in great condition with lots of new things to do and see. So I wouldn't worry about that.

Where you want to be depends on your budget and what kind of stateroom you want. We almost always have a verandah, and we think it's worth the extra money, but not everybody does. We've had an ocean view cabin on the very low decks and we've had verandahs on Decks 6 and 7. We've never been disappointed, to be honest. It really depends on what kind of room you hope to have.

The time of year is PERFECT for a Caribbean cruise. We just got off our cruise two weeks ago and had fantastic weather and mostly calm seas. You won't be disappointed with mid-April.

I'll check back to see if anyone else has chimed in and then give any other thoughts. Mostly, my thought is, "you're gonna love it"!

Thank you so much for your relay. I'm celebrating the fact that my boss said yes to the time off next April as he laughed at me for asking so far in advance. I have a few more days on the site to hold the reservation so I'll be doing the deposit very very soon.

The room I'm looking at is a port hole room on deck 5. I think the verandahs would be nice but I'm a little worried about safety and they don't fit in the budget as nicely.

I'm so excited that this would be a good time to go. That was one of my biggest concerns.

 

[CB2@disney]

Next cruise! Woo hoo!

I think Chuck misread and thought you said the Magic, but the Wonder is still a great ship. I'm booked on it the month after you are looking at doing it.

Do you want an ocean view? Is that what you mean by portal? If so, the biggest tip I would give there is to avoid deck 1. The port holes are smaller on Deck 1.

The weather should be great as Chuck said.

Thank you so much for your reply. Yes, I did mean port hole. That tip on not wanting deck 1 is great. I think I want deck 5. Does it matter much which dining seating you pick?

 

[CB2@disney]

You and I have been looking at the same cruise. We are tired of going to Nassau so we have been looking at the April 27, 2014 Wonder cruise from Miami to Cozumel and Castaway Cay and back. We have never cruised out of Miami but should be ok. I saw somewhere that the parking is kind of scattered and a little walking might be in store. We plan to book it on board when we leave Sunday on the Dream. Hope to see you there!

We are looking at the cruise from April 13-18th. So unfortunately we won't see you. We'll be coming back as you leave. I hope you have as much fun on your cruise as I hope we have on ours.

As for parking... We'll be flying in that morning and hopefully will have transportation to the boat from the airport so we won't have to worry about parking.

Have fun on the DREAM!!!! We loved it. The Aquaduck was amazing.

 

[CB2@disney]

Another question.... should we do an excursion? What should we look to do in Cozumel?

 

[ChuckElias]

To be honest, Cozumel is the one port where I didn't get off the ship on our cruise a couple weeks ago. When I went ashore on a previous cruise, we just walked around the town a little bit near the port and that wasn't very interesting. If you go to the DCL website, they have a list of available excursions, but there aren't a ton of choices. It's possible that this list is just for examples. There may be more available, I don't know because we didn't do any excursions here. But you can find DCL's list here:

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/cruises-destinations/caribbean/ports/cozumel-mexico/


If you don't mind using a non-Disney tour company, you can find a lot more choices with Shore Trips. There's a list of excursions for the Wonder's itinerary here:

http://www.shoretrips.com/excursions/ship-5261021-czm/disney-wonder-4-18-2014/cozumel-mexico

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Thank you so much for your reply. Yes, I did mean port hole. That tip on not wanting deck 1 is great. I think I want deck 5. Does it matter much which dining seating you pick?

Which dining doesn't matter at all. If you choose late, you can see the shows before hand, and with early dining you see the shows afterwards. There do tend to be less children at the second seating if that matters.