how does the land and sea package work?

[sbelyo]

Hello...

I feel like taking a cruise for the first time with my family. So I was thinking of doing the 3 night land and 3 night cruise package. I love going to disney, and my wife wants to see the islands, so I thought this would satisfy us both. Ive never been on a disney cruise, so my questions are these:

1. What comes first land or sea?

2. I remember seeing a DCL bus, I am assuming that this takes you to the ship. Where can you catch this bus?

3. Do you go through customs for each port of call if you plan to visit that island?

4. if you have to go through customs how long does it take usually?

5. How long are you allowed to be away from the boat before you have to board agian?

Thanks

 

[cardio75]

I am going on a land/sea cruise in october, so i can't answer all your questions, but:
1. either can be done first, it's up to you
2. The bus will be waiting for you at your disney resort to take you to port canaveral
3. I'm pretty sure you only do customs once at debarkation
4. don't know yet

good luck!

 

[pvangordon]

DCL land/sea packages are a total of 7 nights. DH and I did this last Oct.

1. What comes first land or sea?

I believe you can choose either. What you choose affects the day of the week the package starts. We chose the parks first, since it was immediately after a conference I was attending in Orlando. After spending 4 days running around to see all the sights, it was very relaxing to have 3 days on a ship afterwards.

2. I remember seeing a DCL bus, I am assuming that this takes you to the ship. Where can you catch this bus?

You take the bus if you purchase the DCL transfers. If you do the cruise part first, the bus will pick you up at the airport and take you to Port Canaveral. If you do the land part first, you can actually check in for your cruise when you check into the hotel and the bus will pick you up at the hotel on the scheduled day. Your Key to the World card is your hotel room key, park pass, ship cabin key, etc. It's very convenient. If you do not purchase the transfers, you need to figure out how to get to the hotel/cruise yourself.

3. Do you go through customs for each port of call if you plan to visit that island?

We only had one stop (Nassau) since we couldn't dock at Castaway Cay due to high winds. I don't recall what we did, but it was pretty easy getting off and on the boat.

4. if you have to go through customs how long does it take usually?

5. How long are you allowed to be away from the boat before you have to board agian?

The itineraries will tell you when the ship docks and departs. There's probably some sort of rule of thumb for timing to get back, like maybe an hour before departure.

 

[zeke11]

We are doing land/sea and leaving soon.

We chose the 3 night land and 4 night sea. Land is first.

We did not book the Disney transportation because it was more expensive than booking our own; likewise with the air.

When you check into your hotel, you do *all* the checking in -- this includes the cruise check-in also. So when you go to the port after your land portion, you are already checked in -- you only need to board.

Kris

 

[NCRedding]

If you are doing a land/sea package trhough Disney, the land portion is first. For the 3 night cruise, package starts on Sunday with your check-in at your WDW resort. Then you go to the port on Thursday. For a 4 night cruise, the land part begins on Thursday, then you meet the ship on Sunday, and end the trip on Thursday.

 

[sbelyo]

Thanks for all the replies...

That really sums it up. I see now that you have to purchase the transfers so I'll have to run it by the family if they want a town car or the bus. I saw that boarding on the ship is usually betwen 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm Last time I took a bus from MCO to AKL it took like 90 min. because it stopped at every terminal and hotel yikes!!! I now use a towncar service it was much easier and only a few dollars more than the bus vouchers.

I also thought of the fact that my daughter( 4 mos.) will be drinking formula and my sun (4.5 years) drinks apple juice by the gallon. I wanted to know if I should bring 1 gallon of bottled water and one gallon of juice (refridgerating them is not necessary)?

 

[mmouse37]

On the official DCL package land is ALWAYS first....this is due to the fact that if there are any delays on the way to Florida you would not have to worry about missing the ship you would just get to WDW later.

if you book the WDW and cruise portions as separate reservations then you could put WDW before or after the cruise...you should look into this option as sometimes it is much cheaper to book them separately. This way also gives you more flexibility in what type of accomodations you will have in WDW. The cruise accomodation category you choose determines what land accomodations you will have at WDW when you are on the land/sea package.

FYI...meals are not included on the land portion of a land/sea package but park tickets are....

MJ

 

[NCRedding]

The water on board is excellent, and they have hot water dispensers near the coffee for mixing formula. I am not sure if they have apple juice at the Deck 9 station or not.

 

[sbelyo]

I see...

I was thinking of booking them seperately with land first. My plans are to buy annual passes and book 5 nights room only at AKL then do a 3 night cruise after.

Will they charge for my daughter ( 4 mos. old) on the cruise?

 

[pvangordon]

Hmm...I was thinking there was an option to do the cruise first. Is there a 4 day cruise/3 day land package then? My recollection was that the Wonder just flips between 4 day and 3 day cruises.

Anyway, yes, the transfers can be pricier than arranging your own transportation, but I found it was useful for my first time there. It was only DH and me, so maybe if we had had a bigger group, we would have opted for a car or van service. I don't recall having any stops between the hotel and the port. The bus is very comfortable and they show a pre-cruise video and Disney cartoons along the way - perfect for getting even MORE excited about the upcoming cruise.

 

[Bosjoe]

Originally posted by sbelyo
I see...

I was thinking of booking them seperately with land first. My plans are to buy annual passes and book 5 nights room only at AKL then do a 3 night cruise after.

Will they charge for my daughter ( 4 mos. old) on the cruise?

FYI

If you book them seperately you have to check in at the hotel and port. So 2 check-ins.

Joe

 

[kcashner]

The land/sea is an "all inclusive" sort of package. Each category on the ship is tied to a class of hotel at WDW. It includes DCL transfers and Unlimited Park Hopper passes. It is easy for Disney and for your TA...but it may not be the best for you.

For instance....you might want a higher category on the ship but a lesser resort--in that case, you can save $ by booking separately. We don't like the UPH passes--they expire the day you check out. The price is based on the cost of park admission including the day you check in and the day you check out. Will you use all the features of these passes??? If not, you can again save $ by getting Park Hopper Plus passes. The unused days never expire, and the cost per day is less than UPH. The number of people in your party will determine whether DCL transfers or private limo company is more economical for you. The "break even" point is usually about 3 adults.

DCL transfers are not the misery that Mears transfers from MCO can be--you don't go to 12 other resorts before getting to yours--trust me, I've done that stunt too. Yes, I know that the DCL transfers are run by Mears, but they are a different deal. However, the advantage of a private limo is that it runs on YOUR schedule, not DCL's.

So...to figure out what's best for you....you need to decide what's more important--convenience, $, something else....
Then, you need to figure out what category you want on the ship and what class of hotel you want. Then price it out, separately and together. Check out www.mousesavers.com for current hotel specials. You can add DCL transfers to any package you book, so that's not a "deal maker" or breaker.....

Have fun....

 

[sbelyo]

I figured out from reading other posts that if I book seperately I'll have 2 checkin's. I just didn't like the fact that the quality of rooms were tied together. I've never cruised before so I'm going to book Cat. 9 on the boat and I always do Deluxe resorts on the land. I figured would get annual passes because I figure on coming once more during the year.

I hope the check in for the ship isn't too long. I read on a trip report to try and check in by 11 to avoid the line.