First time sailors

[Newfiescotian]

Hi there!

My husband, six year old daughter and I are thinking about taking a disney cruise in march 2015, but know nothing about cruises. Which boat is the preferred (or best suited) for my family? Are we already too late booking for next March? Is it better to book through the disney travel agent, rather than online ourselves? So many questions, sorry but hoping someone can share their experiences and expertise. Our biggest conundrum is figuring out which ship to book on

Thank you.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hi there!

My husband, six year old daughter and I are thinking about taking a disney cruise in march 2015, but know nothing about cruises. Which boat is the preferred (or best suited) for my family? Are we already too late booking for next March? Is it better to book through the disney travel agent, rather than online ourselves? So many questions, sorry but hoping someone can share their experiences and expertise. Our biggest conundrum is figuring out which ship to book on

Thank you.

What ship you book will depend on what you want itinerary-wise and length-wise for your cruise.

Since DCL only has 4 ships, each one does different itineraries for different lengths. That would be your first step.

 

[jennifer in canada]

Usually the cheapest rates come out as soon as dates and itineraries are released by disney...you can also rebook onboard for a lesser deposit, a discount on the cruise and onboard credit.

I would start by looking at the dates you want to travel and which port you would like to leave from and go from there...

We chose our first cruise as a 4 night just to see if we would like it as we have never cruised before (dd was 6 and ds was 4). We all fell in love and are now doing a 7 night in September

 

[jrabbit]

Its never too late to book, unless the ship is sold out.

March is PRIME Spring Break Time and with Disney that means ... Break Out the BIG Bucks!!

All of the DCL ships are very good. Better and Best are subjective and depends upon what YOU want (not what I think is important).

I have sailed on all four ships. My favorite is BEING ONBOARD ONE OF THEM. Doesn't really matter which one (well it does Matter - I am not a fan of 3 or 4 night cruises so you won't see me on the Dream until she starts doing other itineraries).

Pick a time you want to go
See where the ships are sailing to at that time
Decide what type of room you want: Inside, Oceanview (window), Veranda (balcony) or Concierge.
Book online or through your favorite travel agent.
== Having A Great Vacation.

 

[Beermam42]

There are 1000s of videos on you tube. We are headed to third cruise in Dec. What we learned from YT before first on Magic 2013 was of great help. It took all the guess work out of it. All the ships are great. Magic and Wonder are sisters, Dream and Fantasy are sisters. All provide a great experience.

Here is a place to start watching.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpQprjb4ijg&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[SillyInventor]

No. It's not too late to book in March. Check availability on the DCL website. You will find this via "Search for a cruise" --> "Find a cruise" and then select March and automatically all options that are not available in March will grey out. It's really easy to navigate.

Your options in March will be:
Magic: sailing from Port Canaveral: 7 night western Caribbean (Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Castaway Cay and either Falmouth or Key West)
Wonder: sailing from Miami: 4 night Bahamian (Key West, Nassau, Castaway Cay, no sea days) and 5 night Western Caribbean (Castaway Cay, two sea days and either Cozumel or Grand Cayman)
Dream: sailing from Port Canaveral: 3 and 4 night Bahamian (Nassau, Castaway Cay and on the 4 nights cruise a day at sea)
Fantasy: sailing from Port Canaveral: 7 night Eastern Caribbean (San Juan, Castaway Cay and either St. Maarten or St. Thomas/St. John with 3 days at sea)

There you have it. Just pick the port and itinerary you like and start booking!

 

[time4dis]

......
5 night Western Caribbean (Castaway Cay, two sea days and either Cozumel or Grand Cayman)
......

That 5 night Wonder would probably be a great itinerary for a first time cruise if you can swing the cost.

i'd also vote for either a Oceanview OR even better a Verandah, if it fits the budget.

Book it yourself or let one of the recommended agents do it for you, there's not much difference either way, and you'd get someone to help with questions and maybe an onboard credit. free $. (like Dreams or Small world)

 

[darwinsrule]

That 5 night Wonder would probably be a great itinerary for a first time cruise if you can swing the cost.

i'd also vote for either a Oceanview OR even better a Verandah, if it fits the budget.

Book it yourself or let one of the recommended agents do it for you, there's not much difference either way, and you'd get someone to help with questions and maybe an onboard credit. free $. (like Dreams or Small world)

Love the Wonder. We have the 5 n Cozumel booked for March 15, 2015. Price has jumped a lot. We have a 5b verandah we booked for the four of us for $3100 (after 10% obb). Price for an inside was close to 4k last I looked. Pays to book when they first go on sale.

 

[egesicki]

Having seen two of the four ships, and they were both lovely, I don't think you would regret any of them. Try for dates and $ that work for you and itineraries you like, take into consideration the schedule and cost of flights to Miami or Orlando and a pre-cruise hotel stay. Highly recommend flying day before for anyone flying from the north, just too many weather possibilities to mess with your schedule.

 

[Dano13]

I was never a fan of cruising (was on Carnival and Royal Carib) and swore to never do another. A few years back when DCL was introducing the Dream my wife's sisters' families were going so I was talked into it. It was great. We did the Fantasy last year because 5 days felt too short. And doing the Fantasy was my idea. The guy that didn't want to cruise.

DCL is a different animal. Everything was top notch starting at the terminal. Someone is always around to do something for you. The ships are great and super clean. We rode the Aquaduck over and over. Adding a verandah also helps in feeling less claustrophobic, although the Dream/Fantasy class are huge in size so that in itself helps to make you feel less confined.

 

[selena74]

We will be first time cruisers October 5th on the disney dream! So excited! Can't wait to see my sons face when he sees the ocean and the ship

 

[lbgraves]

There are so many things people could post telling you about their cruises and which ships they prefer, but that won't necessarily be because of reasons that are important to your family. The best advice I can give is to read the first 4 pages of posts here on the cruise board, along with reading the FAQ thread at the top of the forum. You can also read trip reports on that forum to get port information on excursions with pictures to get an idea of which ports you would prefer. That will expose you to the most popular topics. You will then have questions specific to your family about those topics, so post here and get advice.