A few questions - first time DCL

[hdrolfe]

My son and I were supposed to go on a Disney cruise a few years ago but due to finances had to change plans and ended up on another cruise line. We now have 4 cruises under our belts (with one more planned in April). We had also done a full week at Disney this past summer. We are now looking at a Disney cruise for next year because kiddo is obsessed with Star Wars and really wants to do a Star Wars cruise. So. I think a few things work differently than we are used to cruising with Carnival and RCL.

I understand the queen bed doesn't separate, I don't think I can spend a week sharing a bed with kiddo he kicks! Do all rooms have another option for him? He would probably love a bunk rather than a couch but I can't figure out a map that indicates which has which. We are used to having beds that separate and each getting a twin.

For excursions, normally if we book through the cruise line we pay when we book. Otherwise I book private ones, either paid in advance or cash when we get there. I think it works differently with Disney, are we able to book whenever we want? Do we we pay in advance or on the ship? We are looking at Eastern, Tortola, St Thomas and Castaway. I already have ideas for all ports, and am assuming in Castaway we don't have to pay for anything, just find a spot to spend the day.

It doesn't look like there are very many interior cabins on the Fantasy, it's also only about $300 more to book a balcony. I don't see any very bad locations, we normally like to have cabins above and below. I do see a lot of connecting cabins, especially interiors, aren't they noisier? Kiddo can sleep through anything, but I like it quiet.

Thank you, I'm trying to figure out if it's worth it. It would probably be one time on Disney then back to the other cruise lines for us. We will also be going back to Disney at some point.

 

[Geomom]

Re: the beds. All rooms will at least have a queen bed and a couch that turns into a twin bed. Rooms that sleep 4 have a bunk that comes out of the ceiling as well as the couch turning into a twin bed. (Rooms that sleep 5 also have a twin murphy bed.) The stateroom host will come in twice a day, in the morning to turn the twin bed back to a couch and return the bunk to the ceiling and at night to turn them into beds again. (If you put in a search for 4 people, you'll know which rooms have the ceiling bunk.)

Here are the beds on the Wonder--with the transformation from day to night--note the rooms are different on the Fantasy, but the couch/bunks do the same thing.

 

[Geomom]

Re: Excursions. As a first time DCL cruiser, you can book your port adventures 75 days before the cruise. Currently you don't pre-pay, your account gets charged when you take the excursion, and you'd pay at the end of the cruise (or whenever you hit their account limit.)

I have only been on the Disney Wonder to Alaska, but from what I've read about Castaway Cay--you can rent equipment for snorkeling, floating, etc--so that is a possible charge--you can pre-book it as an excursion or just do it when you get there. Food and non-alcoholic drinks are free on the island. They'll give you towels to use. If your son wants to dig in the sand, I'd bring a small pail/shovel or expect to buy them there.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Another tip - if you're going on the Dream or Fantasy, check out this thread (second post) before you book the room. When DISsers come back, they've listed whether there's a bunk and/or murphy bed in many of the rooms.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/d...pdated-list-of-rooms-needed-1st-post.3194826/

And to alleviate your fears, my DS13 loves the bunk. He said it's very comfortable.

 

[Lisa F]

I'm traveling alone with my son and planning to have him sleep on the couch fold out. I'm paying for this thing, I get the queen bed all to myself! with the stateroom hosts doing the conversion this is not a big deal. I've heard they are pretty comfy too.

 

[Shanti]

My son and I were supposed to go on a Disney cruise a few years ago but due to finances had to change plans and ended up on another cruise line. We now have 4 cruises under our belts (with one more planned in April). We had also done a full week at Disney this past summer. We are now looking at a Disney cruise for next year because kiddo is obsessed with Star Wars and really wants to do a Star Wars cruise. So. I think a few things work differently than we are used to cruising with Carnival and RCL.

I understand the queen bed doesn't separate, I don't think I can spend a week sharing a bed with kiddo he kicks! Do all rooms have another option for him? He would probably love a bunk rather than a couch but I can't figure out a map that indicates which has which. We are used to having beds that separate and each getting a twin.

For excursions, normally if we book through the cruise line we pay when we book. Otherwise I book private ones, either paid in advance or cash when we get there. I think it works differently with Disney, are we able to book whenever we want? Do we we pay in advance or on the ship? We are looking at Eastern, Tortola, St Thomas and Castaway. I already have ideas for all ports, and am assuming in Castaway we don't have to pay for anything, just find a spot to spend the day.

It doesn't look like there are very many interior cabins on the Fantasy, it's also only about $300 more to book a balcony. I don't see any very bad locations, we normally like to have cabins above and below. I do see a lot of connecting cabins, especially interiors, aren't they noisier? Kiddo can sleep through anything, but I like it quiet.

Thank you, I'm trying to figure out if it's worth it. It would probably be one time on Disney then back to the other cruise lines for us. We will also be going back to Disney at some point.

With DCL, people with higher loyalty levels get to book excursions first, based on the number of DCL cruises they've taken. The only exception to this is if you're cruising concierge, in which case you'll get to book them before everyone else. Excursions are paid for at the end of the cruise.

You can book extra-cost excursions on Castaway Cay if you wish (I recommend at least renting a bike to ride on the island, but that's cheap & need not be done in advance), but you don't need excursions to enjoy Castaway Cay. Plenty to do without them.

On the Fantasy (and only on the Fantasy), some of the aft staterooms have severe vibration issues, depending on the ship's speed & sea conditions, so personally I would avoid aft cabins while sailing on her.

Connecting cabins tend to be noisier on the classic ships (Magic & Wonder), but not the Dream class ships (Dream & Fantasy). We just sailed in a connecting cabin on the Dream and heard nothing at all from our neighbors (and I know we did have neighbors).

Here is a link to stateroom reports:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-cruise-line/disney-fantasy-room-reports.cfm

 

[Starwind]

Re: the beds. All rooms will at least have a queen bed and a couch that turns into a twin bed. Rooms that sleep 4 have a bunk that comes out of the ceiling as well as the couch turning into a twin bed. (Rooms that sleep 5 also have a twin murphy bed.) The stateroom host will come in twice a day, in the morning to turn the twin bed back to a couch and return the bunk to the ceiling and at night to turn them into beds again. (If you put in a search for 4 people, you'll know which rooms have the ceiling bunk.)

Some staterooms that sleep 4 have a queen, sofabed, and murphy bed but no bunk from the ceiling. The link another poster provided for what rooms have what can be helpful figuring out which is which.

SW