First cruise

[G00fyDad]

My wife has finally decided that she wants to do a cruise, but she wants to do a short one (3 day Nassau) for our first time in case she doesn't like it. So... I want to do a "land and sea" trip. Forgive me for being such a landlubber newb about cruises but I have a few questions that were not answered in the sticky for this category.

1) Do we have to do the parks before the cruise? Or can we cruise, then do the parks?

2) Can we have a 3 day cruise and 7 or 8 days in the parks?

3) Are meals are included in the cruise portion of the price?

4) How expensive are the gifts/souvenirs on shore in Nassau/New Providence?

 

[Iceman09201]

:wave:Welcome to the wonderful world of disney cruising!!!! Some answers to your questions,

1) You can do the parks before the cruise, after the cruise or both!!1:ROFLOL:

2) You can book any number of resort days before or after your cruise the number is up to you!!

3) All meals at the 3 main dining resturants on ship plus the buffet, quick service and Room Service are included in the price. The only extras you would pay is if you wanted to dine at Palo or Remy.

4) There is many places to shop right near port in Nassau and you will find some good prices on things.

Have fun and hope this helps!!:sohappy:

 

[harveyt0206]

And here is a really stupid question, but I keep getting mixed answers: do you need a passport for the 3 day Nassau cruise?

 

[G00fyDad]

And here is a really stupid question, but I keep getting mixed answers: do you need a passport for the 3 day Nassau cruise?

That one I know. No. You do not need a passport but Disney recommends that you have one just in case of an emergency while in the Bahamas. It will make it far easier to get home if you cannot go back with the ship. :wave:

 

[MaryJaneP]

I would only add that while the three main meals, as provided in the regular dining rooms, are included, things like alcoholic drinks, room service, and certain treats (i.e. smoothies, etc) are not included. But rest assured none go hungry.

 

[harveyt0206]

That one I know. No. You do not need a passport but Disney recommends that you have one just in case of an emergency while in the Bahamas. It will make it far easier to get home if you cannot go back with the ship. :wave:

Thanks G00fyDad! :wave:

Neither my husband nor I currently have a passport so we would have to budget the $140 per person card/book application into our trip.

 

[DisneyJoe]

I would only add that while the three main meals, as provided in the regular dining rooms, are included, things like alcoholic drinks, room service, and certain treats (i.e. smoothies, etc) are not included. But rest assured none go hungry.

Room service IS included, except for soft drinks, but you should tip.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

My wife has finally decided that she wants to do a cruise, but she wants to do a short one (3 day Nassau) for our first time in case she doesn't like it. So... I want to do a "land and sea" trip. Forgive me for being such a landlubber newb about cruises but I have a few questions that were not answered in the sticky for this category.

1) Do we have to do the parks before the cruise? Or can we cruise, then do the parks?

2) Can we have a 3 day cruise and 7 or 8 days in the parks?

3) Are meals are included in the cruise portion of the price?

4) How expensive are the gifts/souvenirs on shore in Nassau/New Providence?

Yay for first cruises!

Disney has done a lot to make their "land and sea" trips more flexible, but I'd still recommend booking them separately. When they are booked together through DCL you can't take advantage of any WDW discounts that may come out or the dining plan if that interests you.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Thanks G00fyDad! :wave:

Neither my husband nor I currently have a passport so we would have to budget the $140 per person card/book application into our trip.

You will need an official copy of your birth certificate and government issued photo ID for adults. Just FYI.

 

[G00fyDad]

Yay for first cruises!

Disney has done a lot to make their "land and sea" trips more flexible, but I'd still recommend booking them separately. When they are booked together through DCL you can't take advantage of any WDW discounts that may come out or the dining plan if that interests you.

Thanks for that info. I've been wondering if I should go with booking the whole thing though DCL or doing it seperate. Looks like I'll be doing them seperate. Thanks again.

 

[stefan74]

Yay for first cruises!

Disney has done a lot to make their "land and sea" trips more flexible, but I'd still recommend booking them separately. When they are booked together through DCL you can't take advantage of any WDW discounts that may come out or the dining plan if that interests you.

Thanks for letting me know to book the cruise and land separately. I tend to get some PINS for free dining and I would like to take advantage of this if I am lucky enough to get a PIN in 2 years.

 

[G00fyDad]

Thanks for letting me know to book the cruise and land separately. I tend to get some PINS for free dining and I would like to take advantage of this if I am lucky enough to get a PIN in 2 years.

No kidding. I would have called and booked both together too and then tried to apply a Free Dining discount to it later. I would have been about as mad as I was with AAA that time.

 

[Snowmagic]

My wife has finally decided that she wants to do a cruise, but she wants to do a short one (3 day Nassau) for our first time in case she doesn't like it. So... I want to do a "land and sea" trip. Forgive me for being such a landlubber newb about cruises but I have a few questions that were not answered in the sticky for this category.

1) Do we have to do the parks before the cruise? Or can we cruise, then do the parks?

2) Can we have a 3 day cruise and 7 or 8 days in the parks?

3) Are meals are included in the cruise portion of the price?

4) How expensive are the gifts/souvenirs on shore in Nassau/New Providence?

That's exactly what we did last year for our first cruise on the "Dream", I wasn't sure if I would be able to handle the cruise (sea sickness) but felt a little funny on the first night, then got my sea legs & now can't wait for another cruise.
1. You can do it either way, we did 10 days at WDW, then the cruise.
2. Yes you can.
3. Yes, except Palo & alcohol is extra, we never paid for drinks at all during the cruise for the kids (my wife & I had a couple of cocktails & the lovely illuminated bottom section of the plastic glass was fun) & lots of free ice cream...Mmmmm
4. All I can say is "Haggle hard", there are some great bargains to be found & the people are really nice.
Goofydad, enjoy your cruise, you won't regret it at all. I look at my PC everyday with my pictures of the cruise & still wipe the drool from the screen

Cheers

 

[Disneyfalcon]

No kidding. I would have called and booked both together too and then tried to apply a Free Dining discount to it later. I would have been about as mad as I was with AAA that time.

See, you need a travel agent who specializes in Disney!

 

[stefan74]

I will have to remember Kingdom Konsultants next year when I book my first Disney Cruise for my 2014 40th birthday trip!!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

I will have to remember Kingdom Konsultants next year when I book my first Disney Cruise for my 2014 40th birthday trip!!

Excellent! :sohappy:

 

[G00fyDad]

See, you need a travel agent who specializes in Disney!

I have heard nothing but good things about your company but I think AAA ruined me. I'm not likely to give up control of my trip any time soon. But I have come close a couple of times and honestly, I thought of Kingdom Konsultants first. If I ever do decide to go with a agent again, I will most definitely choose you.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

I have heard nothing but good things about your company but I think AAA ruined me. I'm not likely to give up control of my trip any time soon. But I have come close a couple of times and honestly, I thought of Kingdom Konsultants first. If I ever do decide to go with a agent again, I will most definitely choose you.

I understand. I actually had a bad experience with an agency a long time before I started working with Kingdom Konsultants. It took me a long time to try one again too! But that time it was KK and I was glad I did!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I have heard nothing but good things about your company but I think AAA ruined me. I'm not likely to give up control of my trip any time soon. But I have come close a couple of times and honestly, I thought of Kingdom Konsultants first. If I ever do decide to go with a agent again, I will most definitely choose you.

I can personally vouch for Tammy/KK here. She is incredibly knowledgable. I swear she's not paying me to say any of this either. Tammy has cruised a LOT with Disney and been able to successfully organize multi-family groups on cruises. I didn't just choose her randomly to handle our first cruise last year. I knew I'd have a bazillion questions and she was on top of every one of them quickly. Even with a busy family & her own adventures, it never takes long to hear back if you need something. Heck, we got our GTY room assignment the day before she was sailing on the Fantasy and it was as bad as bad could get (beneath a night club!). I shot her an email asking about upgrading and the next morning while she was on the bus going to the port we were speaking on the phone getting the credit card info straight. THEN, once Tammy was home from her cruise, she checked things over again and found that DCL had a glitch in their system that made the price of my upgrade look like less than it was. I was going to need to pay more money. Instead of me sitting on the phone fighting to get them to honor the upgrade price initially generated, Tammy was on it, handled things perfectly, and got them to honor that original amount. If I wasn't already convinced that having a kick-butt TA was da bomb, I certainly am now! :wave:

 

[Disneyfalcon]

I can personally vouch for Tammy/KK here. She is incredibly knowledgable. I swear she's not paying me to say any of this either. Tammy has cruised a LOT with Disney and been able to successfully organize multi-family groups on cruises. I didn't just choose her randomly to handle our first cruise last year. I knew I'd have a bazillion questions and she was on top of every one of them quickly. Even with a busy family & her own adventures, it never takes long to hear back if you need something. Heck, we got our GTY room assignment the day before she was sailing on the Fantasy and it was as bad as bad could get (beneath a night club!). I shot her an email asking about upgrading and the next morning while she was on the bus going to the port we were speaking on the phone getting the credit card info straight. THEN, once Tammy was home from her cruise, she checked things over again and found that DCL had a glitch in their system that made the price of my upgrade look like less than it was. I was going to need to pay more money. Instead of me sitting on the phone fighting to get them to honor the upgrade price initially generated, Tammy was on it, handled things perfectly, and got them to honor that original amount. If I wasn't already convinced that having a kick-butt TA was da bomb, I certainly am now! :wave:

You're so sweet!