Disney Cruise..so many questions..

[maggiegrace1]

So..:sohappy:..Father in-law told me tonight to start planning a Disney land-sea cruise for May 2011..I am :sohappy:

I already messaged Richard from KK but I want all to give me as much info as possible.

We want to do 3 day cruise to Bahamas and 4 day WDW.

So, do all 3 boats do that?

I know the newest boat will be the best but of the other 2 is there one that is better then the other or are they all basically the same.

It will be me, Drew, Maggie and my MIL and FIL

We will be flying...my first time..

So..tell..me anything and everything..pros and cons..

I know it is a year away but whatever..:lol:

We are going to try and book within a month or so..

Thanks!:sohappy:

 

[Phonedave]

When flying in...should we fly in he night before or early the morning of?

night / day before. The ship will leave on time. It does not care if your plane is delayed. Really, if you take any of my advice (which I would do with a grain of salt) take this. Be in Orlando (or closer) the day before.

If the night before..what hotels are nearby the port?

I never stay near the port, I stay at WDW. It is close enough that I don't worry about missing the cruise, and I can use my AP to get in some park time.

Renting a car for ride from airport to port..and then port to wdw after the cruise to keep with us for 4 days until we return to airport to fly home..is there a car rental place near the port?

There are a mess of car rental places near the cruise port. They are all located about 3 miles away. There are no rental places AT the port, they are all off site. Every car rental agency in the area runs a shuttle bus to and from the Cruise Port. I have rented with Enterprise. It was about a 10 minute shuttle bus ride. Of course you hav to figure in your time waiting for the bus as well. I think I was at the port maybe 30 minutes after I dropped off my car, and upon arrival I think I waited maybe half an hour for the shuttle bus to come by.

You can also return your car at WDW, and take the DME back to MCO at the end of your trip, if thats your cup of tea. Most rental agencies have drop off shuttles at WDW as well.

Is there formal night on the 3 day cruise?..The Pirates party?

No formal night, but there is a night they encourage you to dress up nicely. I wore a sport coat and tie, but there were people at our table in shorts and t-shirts. There is a Pirates party.

I have never flown before...so is there a time that there are better prices for flights or is it just hit or miss?

If you find any sort of pattern, let me know



-dave

 

[amykissangel]

From a family of huge fliers, your biggest tip is to check every.single.day. Prices are usually fairly low on Tuesday's. Do not buy on weekends - airlines tend to jack up the prices because that's when many people search.

For ex:

For this August's Disney trip, we waited on Southwest.
Week 1 of April: Prices not out.
Week 2: Prices on low sale for $79 one-way (very cheap). We waited, wondering if the prices would get lower.
Weekend of Week 2: Prices jumped up to $120 one-way.
Week 3 (Tuesday): Prices back down to $84 one-way. We booked them

It's all a numbers game with the prices, the seats, the times of the flight - and you'll most likely find that you'll be glad with the deal you made. And if you can, ALWAYS book directly with the airline itself. Orbitz, Priceline, Travelocity, Cheaptickets...they're terrible if you need to change anything - they tell you you have to call the airline, the airline says it's not their problem because you booked it through (one of the above sites), and on and on.

I use kayak.com to show you the lowest prices - it filters the information for you. Have fun on your first flight - just try to teach Maggie how to pop her ears before-hand or you might have a tearful little girl

 

[maggiegrace1]

Thanks guys..

Father in law is letting me plan everything....so I will note all of this and let him know all of these great tips.

So, I will definitely let him know we should fly in the day/night before...and that is great about the car rental places being close and the shuttles to and from..

Flights and stuff are not available for next May yet..so I will just constantly check when they become available.

The Disney World part is the easy part as I know exactly how that goes and where to go and what to do..which they are allowing me to plan also......all expenses paid trip that I get to plan the whole thing out makes me happy!..

Thanks guys..and within the next year I am sure I will have many more questions..I appreciate it all..

 

[WDWRLD]

Deffinately do the 4 day...3 day really dosent give you time to enjoy the activities on the ship unless you skip going ashore the day its docked in the Bahamas. On day 1 by the time you do the lifeboat drill, get the lay of the ship and eat dinner your night is done. On day 2 you are in the Bahamas bright and early and the day goes by fast. When you reboard its time to get changed for dinner and mabey take in a show. Day 3 is spent on Castaway Cay and again you wont want to reboard till the last minute, then it will be time for dinner and the Pirates in the Caribbean party. On night 3 you will have to have your bags packed for disembarking the ship the next morning by like 10 or 11 pm. We were off the ship by 7am.
When it was all said and done we realized we really didnt "enjoy" all the ship had to offer and will deffinately do the 4 day next time. We drove but stayed at Disney the night before and that extra day ticked we used for the evening was well worth it. It was really nice doing a Land,Sea,Land vacation.
As far as dress for dinner, I wore a pair of casaual dress pants and a dress shirt. But there were plenty of shorts and t shirts.

 

[maggiegrace1]

Deffinately do the 4 day...3 day really dosent give you time to enjoy the activities on the ship unless you skip going ashore the day its docked in the Bahamas. On day 1 by the time you do the lifeboat drill, get the lay of the ship and eat dinner your night is done. On day 2 you are in the Bahamas bright and early and the day goes by fast. When you reboard its time to get changed for dinner and mabey take in a show. Day 3 is spent on Castaway Cay and again you wont want to reboard till the last minute, then it will be time for dinner and the Pirates in the Caribbean party. On night 3 you will have to have your bags packed for disembarking the ship the next morning by like 10 or 11 pm. We were off the ship by 7am.
When it was all said and done we realized we really didnt "enjoy" all the ship had to offer and will deffinately do the 4 day next time. We drove but stayed at Disney the night before and that extra day ticked we used for the evening was well worth it. It was really nice doing a Land,Sea,Land vacation.
As far as dress for dinner, I wore a pair of casaual dress pants and a dress shirt. But there were plenty of shorts and t shirts.

Thanks..we booked a 3 day....fil wants more time at the parks with Maggie and my husband and I plan on taking a 5 day the following year so we are good with the 3 day..we may not get off the boat in Nassau anyway..really depends..