We are thinking of booking a cruise in January and I'm a little overwhelmed with all the info here. There is so much to read and decide on I thought I'd start this thread. We will be travelling with our two daughters 7 and 3. We were thinking of a deluxe family suite with veranda category 4 and wondered how that was for room and suitcases. Would it be just as good to book a lower category to save some cash? We were thinking that maybe we would not do any shore excursions because the kids would probably just want to swim anyway. That would give us some sleep in days and not as busy. We've cruised before when we didn't have children and they can be exhausting vacations. Also wondering about whether anyone set "ground rules" for the kids regarding eating dinner together most nights instead of kids spending most of their time in the kids club. My thought is it's a family vacation and I want to spend time with my kids too. Am I crazy
Well, it's kind of personal preference - but I'll give some of these a shot:
1) Cat4 vs. Lower Cats... really the only reason to book a CAT4 is if you have 5 people rather than 3... otherwise, if you really want the balcony, then go for a cat5 or 6 and save yourself the money... If you aren't booking a 3 or above, you have to ask yourself the following questions:
a) how many people per room
b) do I need/must have a balcony?
c) if no balcony, do I need/must have a window?
d) will we spend a lot of time in room or not?
That should help you narrow it down a bit.
2) All of the
DCL rooms are bigger than normal 'rooms' on most cruise ships - but they aren't like hotel rooms - luggage storage can be an issue. If you're doing a 4 day, you should be fine, just take the advice of the boards and pack everything you think you'll need, then take 1/2 of it back out again.
3) Excursions are a personal choice. On the 3 day, we didn't book any w/ our 4 y.o. DD unless you count the float rental at
Castaway Cay - and we had a fabulous time... But some people are ALL about the ports and excursions. Depends on your style. The ship is always majorly uncrowded while in a port - but sometimes they are cleaning the pools during that time too!
4) With our DD as young as she is, we didn't need to set ground rules - but just tell your kids that dinner is family time and you should be okay
Have fun!!! and welcome to the DIS!