1st time Disney cruiser with LOTS of questions..

[S.S.WILSON]

Hi there. Im new here and wondering if I could get some info on cruising. We are a family of four, two girls ages 5 and 7. We are thinking of going in Oct. around the 9th. I have been looking to stay on deck 8 or 9. Is one better than the other? We have to have a big window, no verendah needed. Also is the weather warm that time of year? I am from Arizona so im used to the heat! Hopefully the weather and water wont be cold. Is there someone that has been on one of those decks that recommend a room? Also do you feel that the kids get plenty to do with the helpers? We have been on one cruise, did not take kids so hopefully this will be fun, kinda why were choosing Disney. Any excursion reccomendations would be great! Thanks!!!

 

[Jillie]

Hi ss.wilson and welcome to the disboards. We have done 2 cruises on the Magic...one eastern and one western and have stayed on deck 8 both times...there are no rooms on deck 9 as that is where the pools are. We have had a verandah room both times as there are no porthole rooms on deck 8. Hope this helps.

 

[din]

We stay on deck 2, Cat 9 near the rear elevators. We like the location as it is close to the shows and elevators.

Some noise when we reach back to Cape Caneveral due to engine noise but overall we like the room.

Our kids looked at the navigators, picked a few actrivities that they like and the rest we were together.

The clubs are weel staffed. Since you are planning an Oct trip there may not be that may kids.

As an FYI - if you change you mind and want to go during a school holiday, summer, easter, Christmas... book early. They only allow a certain number of kids on the ship so that the clubs can handle the volume. Example if you want to travel this Easter, you will see that it is full, but if you pick only adults you can still get some rooms.

 

[S.S.WILSON]

When you say port hole is that all they have? When I went on the carnival cruise I was happy with the size of the window, is it pretty wide? Also I do get a little motion sick so I forgot to mention that in my post. Want to be on a good floor, not too noisy. Does all the floors have differnet cat rooms? Weather and water temp?Thx!

 

[jrabbit]

Don't worry about not many kids on the ship in October, yes it's a low time, but there will probably be 300-400 kids age 5-12.

Coming from arizona, you will probably freeze just about any time of the year (except for july/august and then the humidity will take its toll on you since you're not used to that!).

No you won't really freeze but the temps will be in the mid to upper 80's (right about where you have your air conditioning set) or maybe low 90's most of the time. The humidity will make it seem much warmer. The water will still be very comfortable.

>On Deck 8 there are verandas
>On Deck 7 there are verandas, some inside rooms and about 16 rooms with portholes (catagory 8)
>On Deck 6 There are verandaa, inside rooms and about 24 rooms with portholes (catagory 8)
>Deck 5 is an interesting one. THere are about 20 porthole rooms (catagory 8) but there are also 6 category 10 rooms that DO have a large porthole (we call these the Secret Porthole Rooms-SPH). THese are the best rooms for the buck. THey are classified as "inside" rooms because the portholes are partially obstructed - but you get natural light and you can see out of them pretty well. THere are alse veranda and inside rooms up here on deck 5.
>Deck 2 (some people refer to this as "down there") It's a great deck. The hallway rund the length of the ship so if you can go to the section of the ship you need (forward, mid, aft) and "pop up" a deck or two to where you want to go (OK getting up to deck 9 is a lot of stairs - just remember you get to eat more desserts when you take the stairs! . This deck has the huge porthole (4 foot) rooms along with inside rooms. This is the closest to the water (except for the few rooms on deck 1) on the ship you are and the views from down here are great.
>Deck 1 has some porthole rooms and a few inside rooms. The advantage here is it's a short walk to get off the ship in your ports of call.

 

[iluvtink]

Hi, and welcome aboard! You will have a blast, and so will your children! Our first Disney cruise was in 2001, and my DD's were 12 and 8. Both spent several hours a day in the kid's club, and my DD12 was there more at night. They put out a daily newsletter, the Navigator, that tells you what activities are going on all over the ship, and they break down the kids' clubs into age groups and give the schedule so that you can drop off and pick up your kids there according to what they want to do. They will also give you a pager, so that if one or both of your girls want to leave the club, they will page you to come and get them. We had a very good balance of family time and adult time.

We were impressed with the security, the activities, and especially the counselors... they are from all over the world and speak many different languages besides English. It was a great cultural experience for them, as well. At ages 5 and 7, your DDs should be in the same club together.

Have fun planning your trip!

Kim

 

[Lynda Silk]

Hi S. S. Wilson,
We went on the 3 day cruise in October 2002 (I think our sailing date was Oct 25) and the weather was wonderful. It was very hot in Nassau and Castaway Cay and we actually came back a little earlier than planned to "cool off" on the ship. We were able to sunbathe in our bathing suits on the deck in total comfort every day of the cruise. We had beautiful sunny days and the seas seemed fairly calm. I suffer from motion sickness too but didn't feel queasy once on the cruise. We stayed on the 7th deck and had a verandah.

The water temperature was perfect, not too warm and not cold at all.

We have chosen to cruise again in October but this time we're taking the 7 day Hallowe'en cruise!

We also didn't find the ship crowded at all; can't remember standing in line for anything. Just so you know, on both of our cruises, we had an absolutely fabulous time! It was better than anything we hoped for. I have 2 kids (8 and 10 yrs old at the time) and we all had such a wonderful, "magical" time!

Hope this helps! Keep watching these boards for more info on the cruise; the posters here are so nice and so helpful!

Have a great cruise!

 

[S.S.WILSON]

So are all the windows tiny portholes? Also what excursions do you prefer? Any particular room/deck I should request?

 

[sillysmom]

They are not even close to tiny little portholes, THEY HAVE 3 FEET AROUND!!!!!

 

[S.S.WILSON]

Trying to get this cruise booked soon, still confused on which deck / room to request? Thanks for the clarification on the portholes!! Sorry so many ???

 

[din]

There are two type of portholes:

- one that is about 3 ft diameter (as mentioned by sillymon)
- on deck 1 there are rooms with two smaller portholes.

 

[KyBuckeye]

Just wanted to say welcome! We are booked on the cruise you are considering. We are on deck 8 with a verandah. Our son 5, and daughter 6 will be with us. As this is our first Disney Cruise I don't have any real advice except to stay on this board and read, read, read!!!. Also I'd advise you to pick up a Passporter guide at your local bookstore or by ordering on line. EVERYTHING you will ever need to know is written down in one handy place. BTW, where in AZ are you? I'm in Kentucky but have family in Phoenix and we are heading there in 2 weeks for a visit.

 

[S.S.WILSON]

Hi Kybuckeye, I live in Chandler, Arizona, bout 13 miles south of Phoenix. We are having pretty nice weather so you are coming at a good time. We are definitley gonna pick the Oct 9 cruise date cause our kids have Fall break at school that week. My girls are 7 and 5. I am trying to learn a little here before we book the cruise. I still am not sure on the deck yet? I cant believe how much info is on here!!! Do you know anything about Deck 2?

 

[KyBuckeye]

You may want to check out this site regarding deck 2 rooms; www.dclribute.com/faq/deck2noise.htm. Apparently there could be some problems with noise in several of the rooms on deck 2 and this site gives a list of the rooms in question. To be fair, I've also seem people post that say they've never been bothered by the noise. Otherwise I think deck 2 sounds fine, and it seems that all the decks are pretty well thought of. Its a hard decision but you may also be limited due to what's still available. We booked our cruise just a few weeks ago and I know it was filling up. I'd be interested to hear what dining time you get when you book. We requested early but had to be waitlisted as its already full. I hope we will be changed as we live in est and our kids are pretty used to eating by 6 and they go to bed fairly early. It will be fall break for us then, too.

Chandler, huh? I have cousins that live very close by and my older daughter lives in (I know this is spelled wrong) Awatoukee. I'm talking my little ones out to visit during spring break, hubby is very busy this time of year so can't go.

Best of luck getting this all together, and keep posting, someone is sure to have an answer.

 

[S.S.WILSON]

That link doesnt appear to work? When we cruised on Carnival, we had no kids and took late seating and it wasnt a problem. Now with kids late seating is questionable? I do like that you have extra time in the aftternoon to hang out before rushing to get ready. I guess either way theres good and bad. How do we see shows if we are eating at 830? Is that the dinner time? Oh Awahtukee is just down the street! What a small world!

 

[KyBuckeye]

Well I knew I spelled that wrong. Hey, while I've got you, what is there to do in Phoenix with kids our age? My older daughter doesn't have any so she isn't much help. Any really good spots you could recommend? As far as the link goes try this: www.dcltribute.com and then click on "noisy rooms". See if that does it. I was trying to copy the direct link but must have done something wrong.

Heidi

 

[S.S.WILSON]

Ok I think I found the link. Things to do here, well maybe hit a Spring training baseball game. Or theres the zoo, kinda depends if your kids are into that. Theres Arena football (Rattlers) and there is also water parks, but not sure when they open, you may want to ask your sister. The water parks are Big Surf, Golfland sunsplash, Waterworld. Or if your into hiking theres Papago park. Hope this helps!

 

[julie junebug]

Welcome!

I highly recommend Deck 2, Category 9 staterooms! We've cruised 3 times and always had this type of room. The large porthole is great, the split bathroom is great, and the kids love the pull-down bunk bed (the stateroom host/ess will pull it down at night and put it back during the day so it's not it the way - my kids were alarmed when we didn't see the bunk when we first entered the room!).

We've cruised in late September and the weather was PERFECT (OK, coming from Minnesota anything above 60 degrees is warm!)

You'll learn a lot from these boards. Using the "search" function is a great way to look up any topic you're interested in to see previous discussions. Have a fabulous trip!

Julie

 

[julie junebug]

Welcome!

I highly recommend Deck 2, Category 9 staterooms! We've cruised 3 times and always had this type of room. The large porthole is great, the split bathroom is great, and the kids love the pull-down bunk bed (the stateroom host/ess will pull it down at night and put it back during the day so it's not it the way - my kids were alarmed when we didn't see the bunk when we first entered the room!).

We've cruised in late September and the weather was PERFECT (OK, coming from Minnesota anything above 60 degrees is warm!)

You'll learn a lot from these boards. Using the "search" function is a great way to look up any topic you're interested in to see previous discussions. Have a fabulous trip!

Julie

 

[JJsmama]

WHich ship are you planning to take in October?

We're planning an October cruise and discovered that the Wonder will be in dry dock from end of Sept until it sails again Oct. 17.