Booking our first cruise, need help

[Minnie's Pal]

We are getting ready to book our first cruise!! Planning on taking the three day on Disney Wonder. Just a couple on details I need advice on. We are looking at the last two weeks in April or the first two weeks in May. Any suggestions on pros or cons of any of those times?
Whats the weather like in Florida that time of year? Any advice on kids programs (I have a 3 & 5 yr old.) What has worked best for your family--going to parks, etc before or after cruise?
Any tips, hints or just plain interesting info would be great.

Thanks!

 

[outahere]

We've been in Florida a few times during late April/early May and the weather has been nice and warm. The later you get into May, it starts to get hotter.

If you intend to go to the parks and on the cruise, I would recommend going to the parks first. The parks can be extremely tiring because of all the walking and excitement, and going on the cruise afterwards gives you a chance to rest and relax.

I would suggest taking a look at www.castawayclub.com and www.dcltribute.com for a lot of very good information about DCL.

Have a great trip !!

 

[LAMPSKIES]

I second the motion for going to the parks first. I also believe that the "land/sea" with the 3 nighter is Sunday to Thursday at the parks and Thursday 'till Sunday on the ship. I would go to www.disney.com and check prices on the different dates you are thinking of. The less expensive the less crowded.

 

[outahere]

One thing I forgot in my first post.......... if you are going to do the land/sea, I would check into booking each portion separately. From everyting I've seen and heard, it is cheaper than booking one of the combined land/sea packages through DCL.

If you don't want to stay in the park, I highly recommend renting a condo at one of the Marriott timeshares. We have stayed at Cypress Harbour and Grande Vista several times and think it is great to get a 2 bedroom condo for not much more (and sometimes a lot less) than a hotel room. Both of those properties are about 15 minutes from WDW, and very close to Sea World.