Disney Cruise

[Captain Disney]

My wife and I are having a discussion on our next vacation. I of course want to go back to Disney, she would like to take a cruise. So I said, why not take a Disney Cruise. I have done a little info gathering, but have some questions.

1. What is the best time of the year to go?
2. If we go, where on the ship would be a good place to stay, I would like a room with a balcony to see out, not an inside room.
3. Are there any good place for a 3 year to go, or any thing to keep him occupied. I know the ships have an entire section for children, but by little guy will be too young, he will only be 3.

Any answers would be appreciated.

 

[Laura]

Best time of year, I'm not really sure. I'd avoid hurricane season though because you don't want your itinerary messed up.

I thought my room on our November cruise was perfect. It was on the 6th deck (aft) right by the midship elevators with a beautiful view in each port. It was almost directly over the kid's clubs so dropping the kids off took about 1 second.

A 3 year old would love it. My 4 year old certainly did. There's a whole indoor pirate ship themed playground and endless activities with the characters and stuff.

 

[Disneykidder]

What age do the kid clubs start? We are think next year to go!

 

[magicfan]

Disney cruises are great. Good idea.

Your son would love it. There's plenty for him.

My favorite spot for a room is on either the 7th or 8th deck at the end of the ship (I need a refresher on my ship terms - Aft or stern I don't remember). Anyway, you get a veranda and the stairwell is just a few doors down that leads up to the buffet. It's a quick and easy commute to get breakfast and a late night snack by the pools. It may not be the best with your kid, but everything else is quick and easy. Plus, it's not a particularly busy area of the ship.

 

[fizzle75]

My wife and I definitely want to go on a Disney cruise sometime in the next five years or so but I just can't bring myself to sacrifice one of our WDW vacations to do it.:lol:

The Disney cruise planning DVD is a great source of information as well as the special that they did on The Travel Channel, I highly recommend both.
My main concern about a cruise, Disney or otherwise, is that I'm highly prone to motion sickness. I know they make the patches that go behind your ear but I've heard horror stories about them(blurred vision, intense headaches), has anyone experienced this? I always take tons of Dramamine when we go to WDW but I've been told it doesn't help as much on a cruise, is this true?

Also, the dining on a Disney cruise looks amazing, I especially want to eat at The Animator's Palette, any reviews?

 

[maryszhi]

the week before, during, or the week after easter. thats when we always do it the weather is beautiful, and the caribbean is amazing at that time of the year. Also You can get a package that inludes the crusie, as well as disney world on property, room, and other. Even better u can do the crusise before or after. I suggest before, the cruise is quite relaxing. Also make sure to the do the dolphan swim . I have done it all over the carribean (inlcuding the atlantis.) and the one the disney cruise offers is by far the best i have ever done.

 

[maryszhi]

What age do the kid clubs start? We are think next year to go!

I believe that for the kids clubs the age is 3-8 9-12 and then the teen one which is 13-18
I cant remember since i have always done the oceaners lab as well as the teen deck.

Also there is pleanty to do for everybody. I cant even begin to tell you what there is. I suggest getting the planning dvd as well as the unoffical guide to disney world that included the disney cruise.

hope this helps

 

[magicfan]

Also, the dining on a Disney cruise looks amazing, I especially want to eat at The Animator's Palette, any reviews?

The dining truly is amazing.

Animator's Palate is quite the experience. However, for me, it was a one and done. The first time you eat there, it's great. The whole show is spectacular. You really focus more on what's going on around you then you do on your dinner. But for me, it's been nothing special every other time I've gone.

My favorite has to be Parrot's Cay. I love the Caribbean atmosphere. I never get over that one.

 

[wdwmomof3]

My wife and I definitely want to go on a Disney cruise sometime in the next five years or so but I just can't bring myself to sacrifice one of our WDW vacations to do it.:lol:

You sound like me. I really want to go on the Disney cruise but for the same reasons, I haven't. My youngest daughter and I get motion sickness very easy. I would hate to feel this way on vacation. Between this and needing more days at Disney World, I haven't done it yet but one of these days I want to try it.

 

[DisneyJoe]

the week before, during, or the week after easter.

FYI, those weeks are the most expensive time of the year for a Disney cruise.

 

[Laura]

What age do the kid clubs start? We are think next year to go!

They have to be 3 years old any potty trained. If they are younger or not potty trained you can pay for babysitting.

My wife and I definitely want to go on a Disney cruise sometime in the next five years or so but I just can't bring myself to sacrifice one of our WDW vacations to do it.:lol:

The Disney cruise planning DVD is a great source of information as well as the special that they did on The Travel Channel, I highly recommend both.
My main concern about a cruise, Disney or otherwise, is that I'm highly prone to motion sickness. I know they make the patches that go behind your ear but I've heard horror stories about them(blurred vision, intense headaches), has anyone experienced this? I always take tons of Dramamine when we go to WDW but I've been told it doesn't help as much on a cruise, is this true?

Also, the dining on a Disney cruise looks amazing, I especially want to eat at The Animator's Palette, any reviews?

Go for it. Don't be afraid to miss out on your Disney fix because the cruises are just as Disnified as the parks. When the horn plays "when you wish upon a star" as you're leaving Port Canaveral you'll get shivers!

Motion sickness on cruises has never been an issue for me and I've been on some rocky ones. If you do a 3 night cruise almost all the sailing is done while you're asleep anyway. I did notice a huge amount of people on our last cruise wearing the little dots behind the ears, so they must work for them.

 

[Phonedave]

My wife and I are having a discussion on our next vacation. I of course want to go back to Disney, she would like to take a cruise. So I said, why not take a Disney Cruise. I have done a little info gathering, but have some questions.

1. What is the best time of the year to go?
2. If we go, where on the ship would be a good place to stay, I would like a room with a balcony to see out, not an inside room.
3. Are there any good place for a 3 year to go, or any thing to keep him occupied. I know the ships have an entire section for children, but by little guy will be too young, he will only be 3.

Any answers would be appreciated.

3 Year olds can go into "gen pop" as long as they are toilet trained. If younger or still in diapers, then they need babysitting (at an extra cost). Of course there are things to do with them as well. The pools, shore excursions, looking around, etc.

Do you want a balcony, or just an outside room? You can get porthole rooms, which are a lot cheaper than roosm with a veranda. On thing to note is a "normal" veranda is better than a Navigators Veranda. You would think a Navagator is somone special and gets a special view to navigate by. Nope. the normal veranda is like a little deck, with a railing (solid clear plastic on the rail, nothing (or nobody) is going to fall through - the rail is about 4' high.
The Navagators veranda is the same size, but instead of a rail, there is a a steel wall with a "giant porthole" cut into it. Its open to the air, and quite large, but its not as nice.

As far as food is concerend, it's good. Maybe even really good. For a situation where they are serving 300-400 people a seating per dining room (that sounds about right) it is exceptional. Better than any comparable situation (such as a wedding). Service in the dining rooms - excellent. Very very attentive wait staff. The atmosphere of the various dining rooms is excellent as well.

-dave

 

[Cendure]

Have you considered the Land and Sea option for your cruise rather than a complete 7 day cruise. We just booked a land/sea package this weekend. 4 days on land (at the Beach Club)/3 days at sea on the Disney Wonder. We've never cruised before and we also love the parks so this seemed like a great option. You can also do the opposite, with 4 days at sea first and then 3 days on land. There are only 2 ports of call though on these cruises, Nassau and Castaway Cay. We booked directly with the cruise line. They have a toll free number. You can book extra days on the land portion for either at the beginning or end of your trip depending on when your land portion is. We decided to go down a day early so that we have an extra day at Beach Club. With the land/sea option, you get to spend time at the parks and on the cruise. Just something to consider.:wave: