New to Disney Cruising

[FarmBoy78]

I haven't seen any stickies linked on this forum like the others, but for someone who is a veteran of WDW and DL, but never been on a cruise, I'd love your advice, even if it's just to point me to some open thread I've missed in the search here.

First, where to cruise. We're out of FL, so that leaves the Bahamas or Caribbean obviously. So question is would a 7 day Caribbean cruise be best, or I've also heard some people think two back-to-back Bahamas cruises are better because you get 2 days at Castaway Cay, but obviously basically a day in port at Port Canaveral.

Also, on the room types. I would think we would want a Verandah, but that's just a thought. Any advice?

Any other advice for a first timer looking at starting a Cruise soon?

FB78

 

[PrincessJo]

We've been on 2 cruises so far. Once to the Bahamas and once to the Caribbean and we definitely prefer the Bahamas. The day at Castaway Cay was a hit with DH and DS for sure. They loved it. We swam with seals and stingrays, but the thing they loved most was sitting on the beach. My son is over 18, so we spent most of the day on Serenity Beach (adults only). Jack Sparrow made a surprise appearance and he was a lot of fun. He tried to walk off with me until my son yelled, hey Mom! and Jack was upset that I hadn't mentioned I had kids... where he promptly walked off. Great day.

Our first cruise we spent a bit extra for the verandah and only sat out there twice. The second cruise we had an extra large port hole and we loved that just fine. I don't think we'd splurge for a verandah again unless we go to Alaska.

DH and I had brunch at Palo on the Magic and it was awesome. It's totally worth it if it fits into your schedule. Our first cruise was 7 days and we had plenty of time for Palo, but our second cruise was only 4 days so we just didn't have time to fit it in. Our next cruise will definitely be 7 days. We loved the BINGO games on the longer cruise because we had lots of leisure time. I'd recommend 7 days at least

Have tons of fun!!!

 

[flyersfan1129]

Well, you didn't mention if you have kids or not, so not sure about the ports. We love the seven days because you get to see more of the ports, and our son, almost 14, is pretty adventurous. Don't get me wrong, we love Castaway, but we love touring the ruins in Mexico and seeing new things.

As for room choices, if you can afford the verandah, I say go for it. My husband and I loved going out early in the morning and watching the sun rise, and again at night, with a late night cocktail. Our son loved it, too. It is also a nice getaway from the crowds. It is easier to find a quiet spot at WDW and DL than on a cruise.

Also, join your cruise meet link to get to know some of the people you are cruising with, we have made friends ahead of time, and we are still friends with so many of them.

If you have a smartphone, get the DCL app. Wicked cool to be able to text onboard, and have the Navigator at your fingertips.

My biggest piece of advice? Don't try to do so much that you miss out on enjoying your family. My son and husband
LOVE doing the movies, and I used to try and push them to do other things. I realized it is their vacation, too, and let them do what they wanted.

 

[Sir William]

Two highly subjective questions, for which you'll get a variety of opinions.

Some people select their cruise based on the itinerary, or the specific ship, or the dates. We went with dates for our first cruise, with the itinerary taking a distant second place. At the time DCL only had the Magic and the Wonder, and we didn't know one from the other so the choice of ship was not a factor. You might want to look at the ships, the various ports of call, and some of the shore excursions to get a better idea which meets your interests best.

I like a veranda and spend considerable time on it, but DW is just as happy with an ocean view (porthole) because she likes spending time at the pool. I like reading on it early in the morning, with a glass of wine before dinner, and will spend hours on it on sea days. On our first cruise we were pretty busy trying to do everything we could so a veranda would have seen little use, but on our last three I can usually be found enjoying the solitude of our veranda rather than participating in shipboard activities or enduring the hubbub around the pool. In short, you need to decide if a veranda will be used enough to justify the extra cost.

 

[DISGRL13]

Welcome to DCL! Cruising is wonderful! We love the fact that you unpack one time and can be in a new place every morning without moving rooms. I would do a 7 day Caribbean cruise because I like to see new places. Castaway Cay is amazing though and we have done a cruise that stopped there twice. To feel relaxed a 7 day cruise is perfect. On a single 4 or 3 day cruise we felt rushed to get it all in, so less relaxed.

Love having a Verandah!! We used it all the time and loved it in the early morning and the later evening.

We have found DCL to have great service, great food and fun entertainment all leading to a very Magical Time!

 

[imahistorygeek]

We've had a verandah both times we've sailed. The first time, we used it all the time. The second time, not so much because we were so busy doing things on the ship. I don't think we will do a verandah again. Instead, we'll choose a room with a large porthole.

 

[ladypiph]

I think the longer the better. The B2B I have heard sometimes can cost less than a full 7 night so it really depends and then two days at CC is always nice there is so much to see and do there . As far as a veranda, to each their own on my previous sailings my son was much too young and curious for me to comfortably book a veranda he is a little older now so we will have one on our upcoming cruise. Also I spend a lot of time in the room so having a bit of fresh air will be nice. I would encourage you to take a look at disneycruiselineblog.com and if you haven't already order the Disney cruise vacation planning DVD. Lots of great information. Happy Planning.

 

[FarmBoy78]

Thanks. Can someone explain the difference in verandahs with whitewalls and verandahs without?

 

[cijay]

Am getting a lot of good insight from this, too, thank you all. I hope you don't mind me eavesdropping. I'm already booked (Dream, 4day Bahamas) and had to take an inside stateroom just for cost's sake because I'm solo. The advantage to being solo is that I don't have to compromise. I don't have to go somewhere and rather be somewhere else, I don't have to drag along if I'm tired and I don't need to stop because someone else is. (LOLyes, I'm a diva, it's all about me!).

My question is about tipping. I know there are some who are not in on the gratuity divvy and don't want to miss them. (Not doing spas and don't drink booze, esp when I'm alone). Housekeeping for sure is one. How much do you tip? Please don't say "whatever you want". How much do YOU tip?

 

[Sailorsgirl]

hello New to Disney Cruise taking first in November question - do we pay for port adventures when we book them?

 

[gumbypee]

I haven't seen any stickies linked on this forum like the others, but for someone who is a veteran of WDW and DL, but never been on a cruise, I'd love your advice, even if it's just to point me to some open thread I've missed in the search here.

First, where to cruise. We're out of FL, so that leaves the Bahamas or Caribbean obviously. So question is would a 7 day Caribbean cruise be best, or I've also heard some people think two back-to-back Bahamas cruises are better because you get 2 days at Castaway Cay, but obviously basically a day in port at Port Canaveral.

Also, on the room types. I would think we would want a Verandah, but that's just a thought. Any advice?

Any other advice for a first timer looking at starting a Cruise soon?

FB78

like previously mentioned, these are very subjective but ill give my opinion!!

I would pick 7 day (but to be honest, I have never done B2B) because you don't miss "time" by going back to port. Plus I would rather see an extra port than same one twice.

I had a verandah on other cruise line Hawaii trip and I rarely rarely used it. I felt forced to use it a little bit to justify cost, but personally would prefer just a porthole bc not in room all that much and I like portholes.

other advice: read read read your Navigators each night thoroughly! Enjoy yourself without trying to cram too much in - there is just way too much to do on board to get it all in one cruise! Hence, you can book onboard for (i think) lower deposit and OBC (??). Watch the nightly shows. Go to MDR and enjoy that ambience and experience. Carve out time to just sit on deck and look at water, nap, read. and have fun!!

 

[gumbypee]

Am getting a lot of good insight from this, too, thank you all. I hope you don't mind me eavesdropping. I'm already booked (Dream, 4day Bahamas) and had to take an inside stateroom just for cost's sake because I'm solo. The advantage to being solo is that I don't have to compromise. I don't have to go somewhere and rather be somewhere else, I don't have to drag along if I'm tired and I don't need to stop because someone else is. (LOLyes, I'm a diva, it's all about me!).

My question is about tipping. I know there are some who are not in on the gratuity divvy and don't want to miss them. (Not doing spas and don't drink booze, esp when I'm alone). Housekeeping for sure is one. How much do you tip? Please don't say "whatever you want". How much do YOU tip?

hey I totally agree! While there is the extra cost to solo traveling, they are the best vacations EVER!! I even went to Kenya all alone for 11 days and it was the best trip of my life!! Got to do what I wanted to do, not worry about pleasing anyone else, enjoy whatever I wanted to do!

as for tipping, I am a little rusty on actual numbers but I belive it is automatically added to your onboard account of $12/day (per person, so for you it would be $12x4day = $48 auto tip for whole cruise-this goes to room steward, head server, assistant server, and dining room head dude). If they are good, then you CAN give a little bit more in cash on last night or maybe add to onboard account. I think I added maybe $5-10 extra. IF they are horrendous, you DO have option of going to guest services and removing gratuities, but hopefully if there is a problem early on you can talk to someone and rectify situation and not deduct (I have never taken money off, only added). oh and if you get room service, I would tip $1-2 depending on how much food was ordered.

 

[gumbypee]

hello New to Disney Cruise taking first in November question - do we pay for port adventures when we book them?

I belive it is not charged until cruise on your onboard account so make sure you account for that

 

[Sytrace]

We are out of Port Canaveral and have recently, (as of Septemeber 26th) taken our 6th Disney cruise. We have taken four 7 night and two 4 night Bahamas cruises. We really enjoy the 7 night cruises and have loved the ports we have gone to which include, St. Maarteen, Puerto Rico, Cayman Islands ( 3x) Cozumel (3 x) Jamaica (2x) and Costa Maya (1x). The last day at Castaway Cay is really fantastic and is actually my 14 year old DD's favorite stop. We always get the verandah room as we like to go out and read or just relax. Also, watching the process of entering or leaving a port is really fun.
That being said, we also enjoyed our Bahamas cruises and being local and AP holders, we like to add a few night Disney property stay to our 4 night cruises.

You really cannot go wrong with any type of Disney cruise. They are all fantastic.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Thanks. Can someone explain the difference in verandahs with whitewalls and verandahs without?

The area below the rail can be either a solid panel (whitewall) or plexiglass. On the Dream & Fantasy the whitewall only extends about 18 inches from the deck, above it is plexiglass. On the Wonder & Magic the whitewall is the full area below the rail.

 

[delo4]

We have done several B2B cruises on the Wonder and the Dream. We really prefer the 7 day though. 7 days really gives the passengers time to settle in, relax, and get to know the ship. There are more activities on the 7'day.

We did the B2Bs because we couldn't get a 7 day or went with people who wanted to do the four days, and they would get off, and we just stayed on.

7 day would be our preference, but neither decision is a bad one.

 

[Sailorsgirl]

I belive it is not charged until cruise on your onboard account so make sure you account for that

OK Thanks for that Information so much to do and so little time to do it . . We just booked an 11/6 cruise ten days ago! I didn't even have a passport. Had to
extra to make sure it gets here in time

 

[PrincessShmoo]

OK Thanks for that Information so much to do and so little time to do it . . We just booked an 11/6 cruise ten days ago! I didn't even have a passport. Had to
extra to make sure it gets here in time

What cruise did you book? If it's a round trip cruise from a US port, and you're a US citizen, you don't have to have a passport.

NOTE: I'm not saying "don't get one" (I'm in the camp of "passports are best") just that it's not necessarily required.

 

[saraheli]

We've done the 7 day eastern caribbean and 5 day double dip and thought the double dip cruise was WAY WAY better. I'm in the minority on these boards, but I did not like visiting the other ports of call on the 7 day E. Carib cruise. I felt like we were herded like cattle to our port adventures and constantly checking/worrying about getting back to the boat on time. Never really felt truly relaxed. Castaway Cay on the other hand is sooo relaxed. You just walk off the ship and you have this amazing island to explore. Both days of the double dip we were one of the first off the ship and the last to return.

 

[Lolo579]

2 things to consider in addition to all of the good advice above... 1.) My family lives in central Florida and took advantage of a last minute VGT rate in February. We were able to get a Verandah room on the Wonder (5 night) at a reduced and (gasp!) reasonable price. There is a good explanation of VGT rates vs GTY, etc... at the top of this forum.
2.) Because you mentioned CC... there are certain months (as we learned the hard way in February) that there is a greater chance you will not be able to dock at CC because of high winds/bad weather. You then have an extra Sea Day instead which was a bummer but it still beat being anywhere else.
We are on the Fantasy for 7 nights in a couple of weeks and are really hoping to actually get to set foot CC this time.