2-Night Halloween on the High Seas Baja Cruise from San Diego: too short to enjoy?

[hodad]

I'm about 10% convinced that I should take my daughter on this, the first Disney cruise for both of us, for her 7th birthday in October, but it sounds like we'd barely get on board before turning around and leaving. Is it really worth $500/person/night?

 

[Quellman]

Everyone's value is different. Disney for West Cost people is always tough since they either have to travel to the East Coast or pay premium for Alaska.

In My Opinion. 2 days is not enough time to experience the Disney Difference when it comes to cruising. Particularly the shows, the restaurants, the characters, and events. You will board the ship the first day, and sail maybe 4pm. The second day you'll be at a port, and then you'll be off the next morning at 9am. Not even 48 hours on board. Chances are you'll spend 16 hours of that sleeping. You'll miss one show, you'll miss one normal rotational restaurant. Chances are you won't really get to use the kids clubs much either. Especially if you do a land excursion in Baja.

I've done a 7 night Halloween High Seas cruise. The trick or treating was ok as it was confined to the lobby. I would be interested to know the participation rates for dressing up on a short cruise like that.

All that said, if you have the money, and are unsure when you may be able to sail Disney again, it could be a great opportunity for a quick family get away, which might just be what you need!

 

[cruisehopeful]

Worth it depends on how much you would normally pay for a hotel, meals and entertainment for a weekend. In my case, it is worth it and often less expensive than other things that we'd do. It does go by very fast and you won't be able to do everything. Or, you can attempt to do everything and not sleep. It's your choice. One thing I like about it is that there is so much going on the whole time. While it has a stop in Ensenada, you could just stay on the ship and keep yourselves pretty busy.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

I'm about 10% convinced that I should take my daughter on this, the first Disney cruise for both of us, for her 7th birthday in October, but it sounds like we'd barely get on board before turning around and leaving. Is it really worth $500/person/night?

My opinion is that would not be a good choice for a first cruise. As stated above you'll be so rushed that you won't be able to experience the joys of cruising. If you can swing one of the longer cruises I'd go for that, otherwise I'd take the $1000 and head up to Disneyland for a couple days.

 

[hodad]

My opinion is that would not be a good choice for a first cruise. As stated above you'll be so rushed that you won't be able to experience the joys of cruising. If you can swing one of the longer cruises I'd go for that, otherwise I'd take the $1000 and head up to Disneyland for a couple days.

We are planning on getting Disneyland APs when we move anyway, but maybe we take your advice and use the money for a weekend at one of the DLR resorts.

The impetus for taking this cruise came from Grandma and Grandpa, who also live in Southern California and have mentioned the possibility of taking a cruise together in the future. Grandma's health makes it difficult for her to fly to the east coast, so we're most likely looking at something in the west. I'll take everyone's advice and look for a longer cruise from San Diego, Vancouver, or Texas, but we'd like to do something sooner rather than later but that still fits with our work schedules. That means it's either this one, an Alaska cruise, or one of the Galveston-Bahamas December trips.

We're also about 10% serious about taking a different trip after 2018 with siblings with children, and it's possible that this two-day trip could satisfy the grandparents and provide the opportunity to put a downpayment on the future cruise.

 

[amberwc]

We're doing the 2 Night Weekend Getaway in May. While I know it will be short, I'm thinking of it as a getaway! We're not planning on going ashore so that we can enjoy the ship/activities. And we're using it to get OBB for a future much more expensive trip. I did the math, and the OBB discount on a big trip (like Europe) almost pays for the 2 night trip.

 

[hodad]

We're doing the 2 Night Weekend Getaway in May. While I know it will be short, I'm thinking of it as a getaway! We're not planning on going ashore so that we can enjoy the ship/activities. And we're using it to get OBB for a future much more expensive trip. I did the math, and the OBB discount on a big trip (like Europe) almost pays for the 2 night trip.

The OBB is basically half off the down-payment, which would be the same as a 10% discount on the total cost of the cruise, right? And could I do OBB for us and for another family traveling with us?

 

[amberwc]

The OBB is basically half off the down-payment, which would be the same as a 10% discount on the total cost of the cruise, right? And could I do OBB for us and for another family traveling with us?

I know it's 10% off, and I'm pretty sure you can do 2 staterooms.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

The OBB is basically half off the down-payment, which would be the same as a 10% discount on the total cost of the cruise, right? And could I do OBB for us and for another family traveling with us?

Onboard booking perk is a 10% deposit on a future cruise of 7 nights and longer. If you book a shorter future cruise the deposit is still 20%. You get 10% off the future cruise cost (not taxes/fees, only the cruise fare), unless it's a concierge booking, or a 2 night cruise. And the Onboard Credit for a future cruise is $100 for cruises less than 7 nights, $200 for cruises 7 nights and longer.

If the future cruise you're looking to book is a blackout date, you only get the OBC, no 10% discount on the cruise fare.

You can book up to 2 rooms on the same future cruise.

 

[quickcat]

I completely agree with the poster who said everyone's value is different. We are taking a Disney cruise around Easter next year. Most would say we are crazy for paying those prices. We are doing it because it's what works best for our family. Do what you feel is best for your family - if you really want to do it I say go for it! You know best what will work and won't for your family. Have a great time if you do decide to go

 

[sherylyn11]

I'm taking my son on the 2 night Halloween cruise. For me it's worth it. We've done the 7 night Alaskan cruise in 2015 and had a wonderful time. So I'm doing the short cruise for 1. to get my fix (I want to do another so badly! lol) and 2. to book a placeholder for a longer cruise in the future.

 

[peachypie]

I've always been the type of person to try to go big to medium for the first vacation and then, based on experience, see if something needs to go bigger or if it can go smaller. Earlier this year we went on a 4 night to the Bahama's on the dream and we just booked a 2 night to Ensenada on the Wonder. I know I will be missing out on a lot of things on the ship, and no matter what length of cruise I will always be left wanting more, but at least I was able to experience more the first time. Also, some of the things I chose to do on the first cruise were a little unnecessary to me in hindsight. So now I know what is important to me but at least I was able to say I tried this and that. I recommend saving for a longer cruise so that you don't get just a "taste" for your first time vs. a bigger bite
One of my friends questioned a second cruise in the same year by asking " so, you'd rather pay more for a 2 night cruise than purchase annual passes?!?"
I was a pass holder for 11 years and got priced out. Plus, I have so many experiences at the parks. Now I want to have new Disney cruise experiences. Proving once again, everyone's value is different . Whatever you decide, have a great time!!!

 

[chaseg03]

I'm about 10% convinced that I should take my daughter on this, the first Disney cruise for both of us, for her 7th birthday in October, but it sounds like we'd barely get on board before turning around and leaving. Is it really worth $500/person/night?

No, you simply can't die everything. For me it'd be too much stress because you can do everything. I wouldn't take it for free but not pay 2000+. Mayabe tack on a few days in San Diego after. 2 nights is just to short.

 

[cmph]

The OBB is basically half off the down-payment, which would be the same as a 10% discount on the total cost of the cruise, right? And could I do OBB for us and for another family traveling with us?

Since you mentioned December, just be aware that holidays are blacked-out for the 10% off OBB.

I totally get your quandary. Sailing out of CA would be so much easier for us than anywhere else. There just is so so little to choose from. I really hoped for something workable in the fall for us, too, b/c both DH and I are celebrating our 40th birthdays (10 days apart), but I just couldn't justify the cost for less than 48 hours. The only other options around the dates we were considering were Carnival cruises, which I don't have anything against per se (and certainly not against the newer ships), but I'm fairly certain I wouldn't be too happy with the shorter ones out of CA with my kids. The new NCL ship for Alaska looks to be sailing on the west coast in other months, so I will keep that one in mind as another west coast option, and Princess has a west coast itinerary that looks nice to me too if the dates would work out (one of their ships that sails in AK in the summer as well). I can't remember the dates off-hand, but it's not until late 2018 for the NCL ship, iirc. For the fall, we ended up deciding on Las Vegas in the end! Sounds odd, but everything I noted wanting to do for a proposed adults-only trip was actually pretty kid-friendly, go figure! We're not gamblers, just want to ride the gondolas in Venice, visit the giant M&M store, go up the Eiffel tower, see the Bellagio fountains, etc.

You may wish to price a December 7-night out of Galveston for 2017 to compare the cost/day vs the 2night Baja. We sailed out of Galveston over the winter break and thought it was a reasonable price for the trip, as it was comparable to other cruiselines' holiday rates out of FL. Galveston isn't a super popular port, I guess, and it does have fog issues, but we got lucky and had no problems on either end of the cruise.