1/17/04 Western cruise questions

[abbamom]

This is a day of firsts - 1st time posting and 1st cruise (hopefully).

We are looking at going on the January 2004 Western cruise and, being a first time cruiser (Disney or any other) , I have a few questions that I hope you pros can answer.

1. Most of the internet sites I have looked at are quoting a price of $799 / person for a catagory 11 room ($399/child, $199/infant). Is this a fair price? (this is not including all the charges)

2. How is the weather in January? I have read that the water is cold. Does this mean pool water or ocean water. We are hearty New Englanders and warm ocean water to us is anything over 60. But how about outside weather? Could we still wear shorts or is it below 70??

3. We will be traveling with our then 15 month son and 4 year old daughter. How are the kids clubs (for the 4 year old). Are they really fun or is it more like day care? I have seen some of the programs, for the kids, and they look great to me....but then again I'm not 4.

4. Has anyone booked a cruise with their new Disney Visa?? We are waiting for ours to come b/4 we book. (also, I still have some convincing to do with my husband). What kind of deals are they giving??

Any other suggestions would be helpful - I have been lurching on this site for a while, and I feel like I have information overload sometimes. I guess this happens when you are a compulsive over-planner like myself.

Thanks

 

[Robert and Kelley]

We are sailing 1/17/04 also. This will be our 5th Disney cruise second time on the western itenerary. We cruised in March this year and the weather was wonderful. We have also cruised in December with wonderful weather. During the day you can always wear shorts. Disney heats the pools on the ship. At Castaway Cay the water ihas alwys been cold at first but you get over it pretty quick.

The prices for the disney cruise are about midrange for cruise lines. The January 17th is a slow time for them so it is the lower category price. Same cruise in summer would be a whole lot more.

Kids clubs onboard are amazing. On our first cruise kids were ages 6 and 7. They loved the clubs. WE had to make them eat dinner with us. Your 4 year old will have a blast at club.

I think you get an onboard credit by using your Disney Visa. Plus you get the earned Disney dollars 1 for every 100 charged.

Keep reading messages on this site..there is a lot of great information. Dont cheat yourselves do it..you wont regret a thing.

 

[mmouse37]

I would suggest booking with Dreams Unlimited Travel,,,one of the sponsors of this board. They always check to see if the price has dropped and typically cruises are less expensive in January. You never know what DCL will do...a lot depends on supply and demand, but at least you know they will constantly check the price of your cruise and will adjust if price drops.

We just sailed this past January on 1/4/03....this was our 7th DCL cruise and the coolest weather wise. We have cruised in Jan, Feb, July, Aug and Oct. We had sunny weather the whole week and were able to use the pools on board. It was too windy to dock at Grand Cayman, though. There was a constant breeze and if the sun ducked behind a cloud it was a bit chilly. We still were able to wear shorts and bathing suits outside. Cozumel was the warmest with temps in the 80's.

Castaway Cay water was chilly but the temps were about 75 and breezy. This was also the coldest January in a long time. I have heard other cruisers that sailed in other years in January say the weather was warmer in the Caribbean than what we had.

Here is a link to our pics and you can see we had nice weather!!

http://community.webshots.com/album/61021700mgkcmV

http://community.webshots.com/album/61027011UZJmCn

MJ

 

[MNmom]

Hi abbamom-

We are also on the 1/17/04 sailing of the Magic and can't wait to go!! We are myself (37), DH (38), DD(10), DD(7), DS (4) and Nana (she won't tell me ).

This will be my 3rd DCL cruise and I have also cruised RCCL a few times. We love to cruise in January!! It is so nice to get away from the snow and cold here in Minnesota. We have always had fantastic weather (80s and sunny) OK- honestly this past Feb.1st we had overcast and a little windy on our first day at sea, but it was at least 80 degrees!!! We cruised on the Magic 1/19/02 and spent about 3 hours in the Mickey Pool before the ship even left Port Canaveral. I can only hope that this January 17th the sun will be with us again

I booked our first cruise with Costco. They were great and took 10% off of the internet price quote from DCL. I continued to look at rates and never found anything cheaper. I think Jan. is one of the slower months and rates are among the lowest. The past two cruises are booked directly with DCL-- only because of a special rate through DCL only and a shipboard credit for rebooking while on the ship. I would not hesitate to go with Dreams Unlimited- I have heard they give fantastic service.

The clubs are great. At the time my 8 and 5 year olds had planned to hang out together in the 5-7 year old club. Well that changed the first night when my 8 year old met a friend and ditched her sister to go in the 8-9 group. Well... to make a long story short. My 5 year old went into the club very apprehensive and alone. THe counselors take the kids in one-on-one and interact with them until they are comfortable with the group or meet other kids. My 5 year old loved it. She was always greeted with enthusiasm and smiles. They made it seem like they were waiting there until she got there! She loved the planned activities as much as the play time in the club. When we go back in January she will be in the same age group with the same activities and she can't wait to go back.

I don't know much about the Visa. We use ours to get airline miles and either use them or sell them to buy our plane tickets. Just seems to work out good for us.

Welcome to the boards. You will find lots of great information here. Don't forget to sign up on the Official Cruise List at the top of the boards. We have quite a group going 1/17/04. It should be a great time!!!

Happy Cruisin' MNmom