Need advice - Disney Cruise in Feb 2024

[mdcpr]

Hi - I would like to take a Disney cruise in February--it is Winter break for the kids AND my 20th wedding anniversary. I've done cruises in the Mediterranean, but I have not done one on this side of the continent for a very long time. I was thinking of a Disney cruise because I'm assuming it has high standards (it is Disney after all) AND it would be great for my teenagers.

My question is how do I put this in motion?
What are the difference between ships?
Do I book directly with Disney or a travel agency?
If yes to travel agency, who should I use?
How many days do I need to cruise?
Do I need to 'reserve' everything like I was going into the parks.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Tks!!!

 

[SaucyBoy]

Hi - I would like to take a Disney cruise in February--it is Winter break for the kids AND my 20th wedding anniversary. I've done cruises in the Mediterranean, but I have not done one on this side of the continent for a very long time. I was thinking of a Disney cruise because I'm assuming it has high standards (it is Disney after all) AND it would be great for my teenagers.

1. My question is how do I put this in motion?
2. What are the difference between ships?
3. Do I book directly with Disney or a travel agency?
4. If yes to travel agency, who should I use?
5. How many days do I need to cruise?
6. Do I need to 'reserve' everything like I was going into the parks.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Tks!!!

1. Go to the Disney Cruise Line website and filter through the sailings for February 2024. A quick glance shows Bahama and Caribbean sailings leaving out of New Orleans, Ft. Lauderdale, and Port Canaveral during this month.
2. I have only been on the Magic and the Wonder, which do not have many discernible differences. The new and larger ships differ greatly from those, so some of the more seasons DCL cruisers can help you there.
3. Up to you. Sometimes a TA can find you a good deal and sometimes it's easier to book directly. It depends also on how much "control" you want in planning the trip.
4. A lot of people here use Kingdom Konsultants, who also happen to be a sponsor for WDWMagic.
5. That depends on the time you have available. I would personally never do a cruise that's less than 5 nights.
6. There are offerings you can/need to book but nothing to the extent as going to the parks.

 

[mdcpr]

1. Go to the Disney Cruise Line website and filter through the sailings for February 2024. A quick glance shows Bahama and Caribbean sailings leaving out of New Orleans, Ft. Lauderdale, and Port Canaveral during this month.
2. I have only been on the Magic and the Wonder, which do not have many discernible differences. The new and larger ships differ greatly from those, so some of the more seasons DCL cruisers can help you there.
3. Up to you. Sometimes a TA can find you a good deal and sometimes it's easier to book directly. It depends also on how much "control" you want in planning the trip.
4. A lot of people here use Kingdom Konsultants, who also happen to be a sponsor for WDWMagic.
5. That depends on the time you have available. I would personally never do a cruise that's less than 5 nights.
6. There are offerings you can/need to book but nothing to the extent as going to the parks.

This is a really good starting list. thank you!! And what do you mean about 'control' planning the trip? tks

 

[SaucyBoy]

This is a really good starting list. thank you!! And what do you mean about 'control' planning the trip? tks

Last year when we took our Alaskan cruise on Royal Caribbean, we let our travel agent basically plan the entire thing from the moment we walked onto the ship until the moment we disembarked. We typically do not vacation in such a planned out manner but since this was our first time in Alaska, we wanted to make sure the trip and experiences went smoothly.

 

[DisAl]

We did our first cruise in many years on the Disney Dream in June 2022. We enjoyed it so much we have another cruise scheduled for June 2024 on the Disney Wish for our whole family group of seven including grandchildren who will be nine and fourteen.
The suggestions made by SaucyBoy are excellent. My first step whether or not you choose to use a travel agent would be to visit the DCL web site at: https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/
You can take a look at all their offerings and decide what you want to do and then either book directly or use a travel agent. I booked directly because we knew exactly what we wanted and there were no flights involved. If you use a travel agent you can tell them which cruise you are interested in and which port you want to use.
We sailed out of Port Canaveral. They have a parking deck adjacent to the terminal, and there are a number of motels within 15 minutes of the cruise terminal if you plan to arrive in the area night before. (I have a morbid fear of being trapped in traffic on the interstate and missing the boat...)
Disney cruises are more expensive than many others, but if you do a detailed comparison of activities (for all age groups of kids) and dining you will probably decide it is worth the difference. The shows were Broadway quality productions. The ship was pristine and the crew fantastic. One thing I really liked about the rotational dining that Disney uses is that you have the same servers and the same table number at each restaurant each night. They learn your preferences quickly and do an excellent job. The only "issue" we had was that our assistant server thought he could sing and sang to our table every night. Well, his heart was in the right place...
The only "down side" of our trip was that we spent a couple of days at Disney World after the cruise. After the cruise experience WDW felt like Motel 6 in comparison.

 

[jme]

Another plus to using a Travel Agent instead of booking directly, is that many of them (especially those that are focused on Disney Cruise Line) will offer you on-board credit as a thank you for booking with them. Kingdom Konsultants, Dreams Unlimited, The Vacationeer, and many others are all reputable Disney-authorized travel agencies. If you are a member of Costco, their travel department can also book your cruise however instead of on-board credit they give a Costco cash card reward.

Difference between ships can be quite a lot of information. Here is a good write-up that summarizes it well enough. But, quickly there are 3 main classes of ship.
Magic/Wonder - Nearly identical floorplans, the oldest and smallest of the fleet (that being said they are still top-tier ships!)
Dream/Fantasy - Nearly identical floorplans, pretty large and newer (2011/12 respectively)
Wish - Newest and largest

Each ship has things unique to it, such as water attractions, stage shows, restaurants, and theming - but they all provide very similar experiences and honestly you can't go wrong with any of them. My oldest child's favorite ship is the Magic because she loves Rapunzel and that's the only one with a Tangled-themed restaurant and stage show. My wife and I prefer the Fantasy for its size and layout. My middle child likes the Dream but really just wants to be on any DCL cruise he can be. As for our youngest, well he's only been on the Fantasy but he loved it and talks about it frequently

 

[krissybear2003]

Kingdom Konsultant agents are all Disney authorized agents. We go thought training from Disney learning about each ship etc. We are with you from the time of booking until you get off the ship , if something comes up we are on the phone with them saving you time!