1st time on this board - never cruised - questions

[Spoisal]

What is a good website for good DCL info? I'm just starting to look into this. How can I find out when the value season is, etc. (you know how wdw has value,regular, high...)? Is summer a good or bad time to cruise? What is the difference between the Magic & the Wonder? OK - enough questions for now!

 

[jfeasel]

For the best information on the cruise line, this is the place to post your questions and get great answers. I also like www.castawayclub.com (great pictures) and you can get a quote straight from Disney at www.disney.com (select Destinations and then cruiseline).

In 2000, we did the 3 day parks/4 day cruise on the Magic and thought we needed more time on the ship so this year (June 14) we're doing the 7 day eastern on the Magic with 3 days in the parks afterwards. My family has cruised on 4 other cruise lines including those to Alaska and Hawaii and we absolutely love the Disney ship. It lacks the gambling of the other ships, but that's no big deal to us. For most of our cruises, we've had kids of all ages with us and the kids really prefer the Disney ship as well. The rooms are bigger and the split baths in the majority of the cabins is an added bonus. We also get a verandah room on the Disney ship, something that isn't readily available on other ships.

I've never been on the Wonder so I can't comment on the difference between the ships but I have been on week long cruises before and that's the best way to go. I think doing a 3 day or 4 day is just to short to appreciate the ship. However, if your schedule only allows for a 3 or 4 day, take the 4.

Since kids are going with us and one of the other travelers is a teacher, we can only sail in the summer. We pick June because you can avoid huricanes.

 

[dclwdwlover]

Ok, you got great info so far for where to research DCL - that'll take you a week to go through - & you'll love it!
I cruised once in the summer & it will definitely be my last summer cruise. WAY TOO HOT!! and WAY TOO BUSY!!! Unless you like sweltering temps. & crowds?! We go typically in mid-end Oct. & the weather is beautiful & crowds fairly low. Mid-March is also a great time we've found.
Our preference is to do WDW first, get thoroughly exhausted walking & walking & visiting as much as we can, then to go on the 4 day cruise (which is really only about 3 1/2 days - the 3 day is really only about 2 1/2 days). This is in lieu of going on the 7-day which we have not done yet, basically because nobody ever wants to skip WDW & we usually add on other stuff too (as you can see below).
We sailed the Magic in 1998 & the Wonder in 2001. Not much difference as far as the ships go. (I won't go into detail - you can find the minimal differences on the castawaycay website). Now, with the Magic doing the 7-day cruises, the itinerary is obviously different. Both ships are dry-docked regularly & very well maintained. ENJOY