Feb 1st any news on the rest of 2014?

The news is being released on Monday. That gives the TAs time to pass the information on before booking Tuesday.



Just wondered if there has been some official confirmation that it is being released on Monday, or if it's just rumor still at this point.
 
I sent an email to my DU agent on Friday noting my preferences if the rumours were true, but she said she has not received anything official from DCL yet. We are all still waiting!!!
 
Just wondered if there has been some official confirmation that it is being released on Monday, or if it's just rumor still at this point.

The only "official" confimation will be the announcement. ;)
 
The only "official" confimation will be the announcement. ;)

Disney marketing just baffles me. Some stuff is announced with big fanfare / no expense spared and other things are just released.

I have yet to get a email saying boo about new itineraries available. I get emails from Princess / Royal Caribbean etc. at least once a week. Princess is a well oiled machine for marketing / promoting / customer care.

I was looking at Disney Cruiseline site yesterday. The current Castaway Club newsletter is SPRING 2012 and the last news is from 2010. You think they could do better at keeping things like that current.
 


Disney marketing just baffles me. Some stuff is announced with big fanfare / no expense spared and other things are just released.

I have yet to get a email saying boo about new itineraries available. I get emails from Princess / Royal Caribbean etc. at least once a week. Princess is a well oiled machine for marketing / promoting / customer care.

I was looking at Disney Cruiseline site yesterday. The current Castaway Club newsletter is SPRING 2012 and the last news is from 2010. You think they could do better at keeping things like that current.

I doubt Princess or RC have the number of customers champing at the bit to book cruises the day they're released. Don't get me wrong, I'd like more marketing/email notifications about future cruises. A little more time to think about the exact cruise/time we want would be nice too. I guess DCL doesn't find it necessary to market any more than they do. As an aside, they do market their Galveston cruises pretty heavily here in TX.
 
Disney marketing just baffles me. Some stuff is announced with big fanfare / no expense spared and other things are just released.

...

Honestly, with multiple threads here and elsewhere talking about nothing but waiting for the new itineraries, DCL probably figures why spend money on that marketing. The DIS and other message boards basically do that for them. ;)
 
Ok while we sit and wait, can anyone help me decide on whether I should go for a 2014 Alaska or Med/Europe cruise (provided they are on the books of course!). I have been trying to find trip reports of recent (2012) of each and especially with a child, my DS would be 5 at the time. Both is not a feasible thing because I have yet to find the winning powerball combo. But I just can't make up my mind!!!! I have been to some of the cities in Italy as well as Barcelona, but not with a 5 yo of course. I'd also love to see Greece if they go there again. But I'd really like to see Alaska as well!!! I would be travelling solo with my son so I most certainly would be doing Disney excursions. Please!!! Help me spend money!!
 


Ok while we sit and wait, can anyone help me decide on whether I should go for a 2014 Alaska or Med/Europe cruise (provided they are on the books of course!). I have been trying to find trip reports of recent (2012) of each and especially with a child, my DS would be 5 at the time. Both is not a feasible thing because I have yet to find the winning powerball combo. But I just can't make up my mind!!!! I have been to some of the cities in Italy as well as Barcelona, but not with a 5 yo of course. I'd also love to see Greece if they go there again. But I'd really like to see Alaska as well!!! I would be travelling solo with my son so I most certainly would be doing Disney excursions. Please!!! Help me spend money!!

Hi

There were no European cruises in 2012. There were some in 2010 & 2011 but they did not include Greece. :)
 
Ok while we sit and wait, can anyone help me decide on whether I should go for a 2014 Alaska or Med/Europe cruise (provided they are on the books of course!). I have been trying to find trip reports of recent (2012) of each and especially with a child, my DS would be 5 at the time. Both is not a feasible thing because I have yet to find the winning powerball combo. But I just can't make up my mind!!!! I have been to some of the cities in Italy as well as Barcelona, but not with a 5 yo of course. I'd also love to see Greece if they go there again. But I'd really like to see Alaska as well!!! I would be travelling solo with my son so I most certainly would be doing Disney excursions. Please!!! Help me spend money!!

My view on this would be Alaska. I think Alaska with a 5 year old is very doable...the scenery from port to port and through the inside passage is breathtaking. I would post my pics but my photo hosting site changed recently and I have not had time to upload my over 6,000 various travel photos from all our trips. At each of the ports the excursions are not that far away (most of them) and it is very easy. I think your son will probably enjoy either so while he is so young do Alasaka since you really want to see it and you have been to Europe before. We spent a few days in Vancouver pre-cruise and absoultely loved that city...tons of stuff to do and would go back anytime.

MJ
 
Ok while we sit and wait, can anyone help me decide on whether I should go for a 2014 Alaska or Med/Europe cruise (provided they are on the books of course!). I have been trying to find trip reports of recent (2012) of each and especially with a child, my DS would be 5 at the time. Both is not a feasible thing because I have yet to find the winning powerball combo. But I just can't make up my mind!!!! I have been to some of the cities in Italy as well as Barcelona, but not with a 5 yo of course. I'd also love to see Greece if they go there again. But I'd really like to see Alaska as well!!! I would be travelling solo with my son so I most certainly would be doing Disney excursions. Please!!! Help me spend money!!

We have done both. I would definitely do the Med Cruise over Alaska if I had to choose. We did the Med in 2010 and am dying to go again. My youngest was 7 on this Cruise. I bribed her at the beginning saying that if she was good on the whole cruise she could pick out whatever she wanted at the end. For $16.95 I had the most behaved child on our excurstions who also had fun! My kids learned so much and as they are getting older, have heard them say they would love to back. I would have to say that part of Alaska was really torture for them.

Good luck with your decision!
 
LisaHK said:
Hi

There were no European cruises in 2012. There were some in 2010 & 2011 but they did not include Greece. :)

Ha well that explains that. I will look for earlier years then. Still hoping to find one with younger kids though. So far just adults is what I've seen.

mmouse37 said:
My view on this would be Alaska. I think Alaska with a 5 year old is very doable...the scenery from port to port and through the inside passage is breathtaking. I would post my pics but my photo hosting site changed recently and I have not had time to upload my over 6,000 various travel photos from all our trips. At each of the ports the excursions are not that far away (most of them) and it is very easy. I think your son will probably enjoy either so while he is so young do Alasaka since you really want to see it and you have been to Europe before. We spent a few days in Vancouver pre-cruise and absoultely loved that city...tons of stuff to do and would go back anytime.

MJ

Thanks I read a report of one family with a 5yo but they did their own excursions. It did seem though that my guy would likely be more interested in possibly seeing bears and whales but then I read that in Athens they could dig in dirt! I am leaning towards Alaska but I'm still so torn. What month did you go? We're there still glacier "pieces" in the water or was it too warm (I've looked at 2 TRs one of adults and one with kids and both were in May so their sailed through ice and I thought that was cool!).

DisneyMomJen said:
We have done both. I would definitely do the Med Cruise over Alaska if I had to choose. We did the Med in 2010 and am dying to go again. My youngest was 7 on this Cruise. I bribed her at the beginning saying that if she was good on the whole cruise she could pick out whatever she wanted at the end. For $16.95 I had the most behaved child on our excurstions who also had fun! My kids learned so much and as they are getting older, have heard them say they would love to back. I would have to say that part of Alaska was really torture for them.

Good luck with your decision!

Ahaha yes the bribe! I know it well ;). See I worry that the history may be over his head at 5. I'm sure in Rome if we got to the Vatican (LOVE IT THERE!) that he could tolerate it for a short while since he goes to a catholic school, but then I could see him saying "ok when can I paint in the ceiling!" ARGH! What sort of excursions did you do with your kids in both places?
 
I haven't done a Med cruise yet, but Alaska was awesome with a 5 year old and so many exciting excursions to chose from it was hard to narrow it down in each port. I don't think I would have wanted such a long international flight with a 5 year old for a med cruise. ;)

A few pix...

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Had the Mickey pool to herself (and yes it was warm enough to swim)
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Saw a pod of Orcas in Juneau (DD still talks about it)
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Train in Skagway with Suspension bridges
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Glacier tour
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I've been to Rome and Venice and while they were beautiful, interesting and architecturally stunning cities, I can't see my son being interested in seeing any of it. I'm going to book Alaska in 2014 if it's offered and wait to do a Med cruise when he's older. He will be 7 in the summer of 2014. I think he will get a kick out of seeing the wildlife, all of the trees, etc. since we live in a desert, panning for gold, seeing the lumberjack show, and experiencing a dog musher camp. He's always begging me to take him camping and hiking. I think he'd really love Alaska.
 
Honestly, with multiple threads here and elsewhere talking about nothing but waiting for the new itineraries, DCL probably figures why spend money on that marketing. The DIS and other message boards basically do that for them. ;)

Hey, I need all the ammunition, I can find. (PP love the Alaska pics :thumbsup2). DH is up for the Baltics....sans the cruise. Bummer. I want the cruise and an extra week in England. :tinker:
 
Honestly, with multiple threads here and elsewhere talking about nothing but waiting for the new itineraries, DCL probably figures why spend money on that marketing. The DIS and other message boards basically do that for them. ;)

My TA says it's a feeding frenzy then a month later people come to their senses and half of them cancel. :lmao:

Thanks I read a report of one family with a 5yo but they did their own excursions. It did seem though that my guy would likely be more interested in possibly seeing bears and whales but then I read that in Athens they could dig in dirt! I am leaning towards Alaska but I'm still so torn. What month did you go? We're there still glacier "pieces" in the water or was it too warm (I've looked at 2 TRs one of adults and one with kids and both were in May so their sailed through ice and I thought that was cool!).

We sailed Alaska last summer during the last week of August. There were still bergey bits floating as we sailed through Tracy Arm Fjord. I don't know what it looked like in May to compare though.
I have to say my boys were 15 & 12 at the time and even ds12 couldn't sit to watch the glacier calve more than a few minutes at a time. He could easily take himself back to Edge when he got bored. This is the same child who spent half our time at the Grand Canyon playing with a stick in the dirt. :laughing:
There were lots of small kids on the cruise but I sort of felt bad for their parents who missed a lot of viewing time to take care of their young children. If you don't mind missing out some things, then do it.
We are doing the Med this year and though both boys enjoy history, must come from dh's side, :sick: we'll probably do the Top Car Museum (Prince of Monaco's car collection) in Villefranche since ds12 loves cars so hopefully will be one less day he might find things a bit boring after a while.
 
Yes, kids get antsy watching glaciers, but i can't imagine them enjoying the Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg, or the Russian ballet either, both of which were major highlights of our Baltic cruise. The Sistine Chapel and Pompeii are also amazing but I doubt a small child would appreciate them, and all the walking involved. The pope made an appearance at the Vatican when I was there, along with sooooo many tour buses and cheering crowds(!) -- it would be difficult to keep track of little ones there as well.

As previous posters have mentioned, there are kid-friendly shore excursions to do in Alaska. I'd recommend saving the historical sites in europe for when the kids are old enough to appreciate them more.

BTW, there's enough glacial ice in May that some ships can't get all the way into Tracy's Arm and/or have visited another "arm" in the area.
 
We did the Med in 2011 when our kids were 6 and 8 (almost 7 and 9). And we did Alaska in 2012 when they were 8 and 10 (my DD turned 10 in Juneau). Both cruises were fabulous, but as a family, the Med gets the nod. My kids did GREAT throughout our entire 19-day trip which included several days in Barcelona prior to the cruise and a few days in Paris after. We deliberately opted for excursions that were not museum-heavy, but we had some long days, and they held up fine and were interested in what we were doing, including St. Peter's in the Vatican. We did things like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Pompeii, Capri, Rome highlights like the Trevi Fountain and the Coliseum. I'd highly recommend the Med cruise as a way to introduce younger children to Europe. My kids also really enjoyed Alaska, but I think they missed getting to swim a lot on the ship which they were able to do on our sea days in the Med (we did the 11-day which had 2 much-needed sea days to regroup in between the very intensive port days). I would be a little leery of the 7-day Med cruises which don't have any days in between the ports. The highlight for us in Alaska was taking a helicopter to the glacier and dog sledding. I highly recommend this if you opt for Alaska.
 
I think I'd like to do another Med Cruise in 2014 but I'm really curious to see what else other then Alaska they offer.

We did the 10-day Caribbean special cruise in 2006 and would definitely recommend that one if it comes out.

I wonder what the new US port will be if DCL are finished with Galveston?
 
My 5yo dancing with Belle at the Catherine's Palace Ball in St. Petersburg. Priceless

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At Tivoli, touring and riding rides...

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And in the Med the next yr at Cincque Terre

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With dw and both my boys in Rome
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My youngest at the time watching us sail into Malta
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We had a great time on both cruises.
 
Cousin Orville said:
My 5yo dancing with Belle at the Catherine's Palace Ball in St. Petersburg. Priceless

At Tivoli, touring and riding rides...

And in the Med the next yr at Cincque Terre

With dw and both my boys in Rome

My youngest at the time watching us sail into Malta

We had a great time on both cruises.

Disney had a special excursion there? What rides were there?
 

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