First Cruise, not sure what to expect...

[Golter]

Have been to the World many times, but we are taking our first cruise in May. We will be departing the 25th on the 3 day Bahamian Cruise. We have 5 in our party (me 34, DW, 36, DD 15, DD9, DS7) I will be booking this in the next several days.

From the disney cruise website, it appears that we must stay in a Cat 4 deluxe family stateroom w. verandah. I have never taken a cruise. Any helpful hints in regards to booking the cruise? Any input would be great.

 

[CPM]

You may also want to conside two cabins if you weren't planning on booking a verandah. You'll have to put your name on one cabin and your husband on another with the children. You can see if you can get connecting cabins or adjacent ones if it's less expensive then a 4.

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

If you havnt already done it go to the DCL official web site and order the free DVD about dcl. It will give you a lot of information. Also on that site you can read about the excursions at Nassau and castaway Cay. That way you can decide if you want to do any of them before the time comes.
Also go to the cruise meets forum on this web site and find your cruise date, sign on and get to know some of your fellow cruisers. That really adds to the enjoyment of the trip, especailly for the kids. They can make friends ahead of time and have a friend waiting on board when they arrive.
Relax and enjoy!!!
mom x4,grandma x4

 

[Marilou]

Have been to the World many times, but we are taking our first cruise in May. We will be departing the 25th on the 3 day Bahamian Cruise. We have 5 in our party (me 34, DW, 36, DD 15, DD9, DS7) I will be booking this in the next several days.

From the disney cruise website, it appears that we must stay in a Cat 4 deluxe family stateroom w. verandah. I have never taken a cruise. Any helpful hints in regards to booking the cruise? Any input would be great.

My Mom, my 2 kids & myself are booked in a cat 9 deluxe oceanview stateroom....much less $$$ and will sleep 4. The room has a dividing screen/curtain and my 2 kids will be on one side with my mom & I on the other. Just fyi..not that it fits your party...we got the queen bed (my mom & I) changed to 2 twins. my kids will each have own beds. Stateroom #2108!
July 6, 2006

 

[Golter]

I've ordered the vacation planning DVD and I'm going to pick up a guidebook. Thanks for the feedback, I will be back as we get closer to departure.

 

[ds2Mom]

You might also try finding a "Passporter" guide. They have specific ones for DCL, as well as the theme parks. It has excellent information on staterooms, etc. You can usually find them in a library, at your local bookstore or on their website.

Have a great time!

 

[Stepht5]

I've ordered the vacation planning DVD and I'm going to pick up a guidebook. Thanks for the feedback, I will be back as we get closer to departure.

The Passporter is my favorite guidebook! I read and reread that one for the 2 months before our cruise this past Oct.
You will have so much fun on the cruise! We did the 3nt in Oct and we are doing one again on Feb 9th.
There are 5 of us and we are in a Cat 3 -- we were in a Cat 3 in Oct, also.

 

[tecdavidt]

For a short cruise I would book two interior rooms. You would get two full baths and the extra space at less cost than the cat. 4 which would give you only one full bath (yes it is split but only one shower/tub and one toilet verses a split bath for each stateroom) Also, the pull down bed in the cat. 4 will block the sliders to the verandah. This is just another tip learned from the DIS. Kathy

 

[captaincrash]

Yeah.... I would seriously consider the 2 cabins versus the single cat 4. Heck... I might add that you might also look at the 7 nite sailings in the off season. You get 7 nights plus more ports for just a little bit more. Only thing is the off season is usually during the school year.

Also, if anyone in your party is suspectible to seas-sickness or simple motion sickness then I would strongly recommend you bring relief bands. These are the battery powered wrist bands that help combat the effects of seasickness. They are reasonably effective with my spouse and kids. And if anyone gets seas sick - then this little device can turn an otherwise miserable day/evening at sea into a managable day. Plus... if you buy fro a place like sharper image just before you sail... then you can return it if a) you don't need it on the trip or b) you needed it but it did not perform the way you hoped.

We have 3 sea bands.

TTFN

 

[Golter]

We booked 3 cat 8 rooms (large porthole), we are sharing with our friends from Dallas. We have a total of 11. It was about $700 cheaper for both of us splitting the rooms. They are connected (2 of them anyway, the third is right next door.)

Still have not got the dvd yet, it should come anyday.

 

[beckygeez]

we are a family of 5 also and we have 2 cat. 8 rooms booked for next month. They are adjoining and it was several hundred dollars cheaper to do this, rather than the verandah rooms. Plus, we get two bathrooms then instead of one. One for our 15 yr old DD and one for the rest of us..
It's a large porthole window so I don't think we'll feel closed in at all.