1st time disney cruise (1st cruise ever) family questions

[bfrosty]

We are planning our first cruise, Disney hopefully, for next April.

1) Do we fly into Orlando, stay at a resort one night then bus over to cape?

2) best ship to cruise to castaway cay?

3) room recommendation? What part of ship? 1St time, so a less bumpy storeroom preferred.

4) we all need passports?

5) Any tips on the boarding process?

Anything else?
Much appreciated. We have been going to the Orlando parks for 14yrs and love it.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We are planning our first cruise, Disney hopefully, for next April.

1) Do we fly into Orlando, stay at a resort one night then bus over to cape?

2) best ship to cruise to castaway cay?

3) room recommendation? What part of ship? 1St time, so a less bumpy storeroom preferred.

4) we all need passports?

5) Any tips on the boarding process?

Anything else?
Much appreciated. We have been going to the Orlando parks for 14yrs and love it.

1) That's one option. Or you can stay at the Hyatt MCO and take the DCL transfers from there. Or you can rent a car. Or you can book a town car. Depends on how many people you're transporting what method would be most cost effective.
2) All the ships go to Castaway Cay (on Bahama or Caribbean cruises). We've taken them all there.
3) As the whole ship moves at the same time, "less bumpy" is subjective. Our preference - Deck 2 on the Magic class ships.
4) If you are all US citizens, the minimum requirement for a closed loop cruise (begins and ends in the same US port) is a birth certificate plus (for those 16 and over) a government issued photo ID. Having a passport is a good idea, but a requirement.
5) I'd suggest arriving at the port around 12:15. By then the big lines are gone and you can check in and board immediately.

 

[wcw57]

1-yes. not necessary but recommended. i love the mco hyatt for that stayover
2-all ships go to castaway cay
3-center of ship is the best to avoid seasickness...but not really much of an issue with all the stabilizers and such................as far as which floor, you need to check which clubs, etc are above you one each of the 2 classes of ships (2 ships each class....)
4-not technically necessary but not a bad idea...the reasons have to do with getting sick/hurt in any port....
5-nah.....just carry on the least amount of stuff possible. you'll be lugging it around til your room opens up

the answers you seek...and the questions I may have made you think in your thinker.....are all here somewhere. search away. ask away..
everyone here knows EVERYTHING! I'm just here for the easy ones........

 

[bfrosty]

Thanks. I forgot to mention the crew.

2 Adults
18 yr old
12 yr old
3 yr old

1) That's one option. Or you can stay at the Hyatt MCO and take the DCL transfers from there. Or you can rent a car. Or you can book a town car. Depends on how many people you're transporting what method would be most cost effective.
2) All the ships go to Castaway Cay (on Bahama or Caribbean cruises). We've taken them all there.
3) As the whole ship moves at the same time, "less bumpy" is subjective. Our preference - Deck 2 on the Magic class ships.
4) If you are all US citizens, the minimum requirement for a closed loop cruise (begins and ends in the same US port) is a birth certificate plus (for those 16 and over) a government issued photo ID. Having a passport is a good idea, but a requirement.
5) I'd suggest arriving at the port around 12:15. By then the big lines are gone and you can check in and board immediately.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Thanks. I forgot to mention the crew.

2 Adults
18 yr old
12 yr old
3 yr old

Well, with 5 people, DCL transfers are going to be in the higher cost group (it's $35 per person each way MCO or WDW resort to port and return). You might want to look into a private town car, or rental car to get to the port.

 

[jrabbit]

1. When to arrive, where to Stay
Always come in the day before your cruise - especially if flying. A hiccup in San Francisco might impact the flights from wherever you are coming from. And the airline don't have any excess capacity in case of issues - "If the Plane Isn't Sold Out - We're NOT Flying IT!!" (I don't know what / how they will get all of those folks out of Chicago from this weekend confused3:

a) Stay wherever you like. WDW resort, airport area hotel, Cocoa Beach. Lots of choices. Last time we cruised, we got a "package" that picked us up from MCO and took us to the Cocoa Beach area hotel, the hotel, transfer from Hotel to Ship, and at the end of the cruise, ship back to MCO. Prices seemed reasonable.

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2. Ship .... They all are great. Each has their own personality. Can't go wrong with any of them.

a) your crew:

• the Adults = any ship,
• the 18yo will be considered an adult and not be allowed into any of the clubs. there's the "1820 Society" that has scheduled informal gatherings of the kids that are 18-20yo. Any ship will be OK for them, but the bigger the ship, the better chance at actually having a group so lean toward Dream / Fantasy
• the 12 yo would probably love the "extra" stuff the Dream / Fantasy have: Mickey's Mid Ship Detective Agency, AquaDuck, Mini Golf. If Star Wars fan one of the ships has the Millennium Falcon.
• the 3yo won't care which ship - will probably love the kids clubs on any of the ships, but the Magic / Wonder are smaller and more intament and might be a better fit with the smaller number of kids

A question for YOU.

How Long of a cruise do you want: Dream is 3 or 4 nights, Fantasy is 7

In April the Magic and / or Wonder might be sailing there on certain itineraries - varying in length from 3 to 7 nights. Some cruise might leave out of Miami.

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3. Want "Less Bumpy"
then probably go lower and mid ship. Deck 2 is terrific. Inside and Large Porthole rooms.

4. Passports: No, BUT...
They are designed for travel, Birth Certificates are not. If you are doing a closed loop cruise (start and end in the same port), Government Issued Photo ID and BC is fine. I travel with my passport now - even for flying - it's just easier. If you do have passports, be sure to bring your Gov't Photo ID (drivers license) because for getting back on the ship, it is easier than your passport.

Passport are good for 10 years so if you think that you might need them in the future (ie: college - study abroad, changing job - completing the I9 form, etc) the cost per year is not that bad (just all of that up front money!!) The 3 and 12 yo passport will only be good for 5 years. At some point I expect that Passports will become the ID of choice for many activities (flying, cruising, voting, etc).

5. Tips for Boarding:
Online check in. For new to DCL cruisers (which I think you are) is about 75 days before sailing. During the process, it will ask for your ID number, How you will pay for onboard "incidentals", and more importantly WHEN you want to arrive at the Port (Port Arrival Time (PAT)). Boarding usually starts between 11:30 and noon and goes until about 3pm. To maximize your time onboard you would want to pick the earliest PAT available. If you want to "walk in / walk onboard" you would pick a PAT between noon and 1pm (lunch is served until 3).

6. Other Thoughts
a) You Can't Eat It All, but try other foods than normal. If you don't like, they will bring you something else - for FREE
b) You Can't Do It All, but sleep is for after the cruise. The hardest part of a DCL cruise is deciding what NOT to do.
c) Bring and USE Sunscreen - the sun is different there than at home, and you can get burnt in a hurry!!

There are "Other Costs" associated with the cruise, specifically, Gratuities. These are given to 4 people that take great care of you throughout the cruise: The Head Server (manager), the Server, Assistant Server and your room steward. These gratuities are based upon the length of the cruise and the number of guests in your party (5 in your case). You do NOT tip at each meal. There is a "standard" amount based on your cruise. Budget for this before you leave home.

Shore Excursions: with DCL you can reserve these during your online check in. Unlike other cruise line you will NOT pay for them up front when reserved, but rather they will be charged to your onboard account. Remember this when budgeting.

Souvenirs onboard and on Castaway Cay will be charged to your room.

Adult Beverages, and other "made to order" beverages (smoothies) all will be charged to your room, as well as soft drinks ordered in a lounge / bar / entertainment venue or in room service.

 

[heather4Disney]

Here are my jumbled bits of first time advice... CC can be cold -- as I recently experienced. If it is cold in Florida it is cold there. Don't buy tubes online, you can buy on CC island. check out online for how to use the wave phones, makes sure everyone has the Disney cruise app and all iPads have it as well before hand. Ask how much is the sparkling water or Still water cost $$ at Palo or Remy ($14.00 for still water... I'd rather drink wine) Do online check-in ASAP but even a later port arrival time (ours 1:30 it was still easy and quick)
We used FL Tours for our Orlando non-Disney hotel to our Cape Canaveral hotel. We arrived the day before to ensure no issues. If you decide to go to a Disney resort after the cruise.... it seems like a ton of work to rush there, only to miss most of a Park day.

When you ask for Mixology --- that is only mixed drinks... if you want to book in the other types of bar drink classes (champane, whiskey, beer... you have to specifically ask for it. They will offer up no help at Guest services unless you say the magically words correctly).

Check your tab during the week ... like I mentioned about the water. I am happy to pay for what I've purchased but unless you directly ask it isn't always mentioned. We are not big drinkers but happy to enjoy the restaurants, some with wine paring, some gifts a $150.00 photo package and our tab was 1700.00 to 1800.00. We did Remy brunch, Remy dinner, Palo brunch , Palo dinner. No BBB. It is good to know ahead of time what you are in for when it comes to costs.

The various popular excursions are also popular with everyone, and often there are three other ships arriving into port that same day. Take a taxi and find your own path.

good luck