Disney Cruise Question

[NorthernON_MOM]

We are contemplating taking a 7 day Disney cruise for our 10th anniversary in November and were wondering a few things.
1) do they keep the kids really busy (enough that we could have some alone time as it is our anniversary)?
2) is there lots to do if the weather is bad?
3) where in Canada is a good place to book this vacation through. I've found lots of US sites, but nothing CDN.?
4) I'd love to hear reviews from Canadians who have gone.

 

[WCMouse]

Greetings ... I will try to answer based on our experiences and hopefully others will join in.
1) We barely saw our kids and had to drap them with us to dinner.
2) We had only good weather, but there is lots to do.
3) Once we booked directly with Disney the another time with Costco, and some friends of ours used CAA.
4) I hope this helps....

 

[NorthernON_MOM]

They have a travel centre now? Did you get a good deal with them?

 

[Vivig]

We celebrated our 10 year anniversary last year on the Disney Magic, and enjoyed every minute.

Here are some answers to your questions:

- Our son LOVED the clubs..in fact he asked to stay and play rather than join us.

- There is plenty to do on the cruise if you so wish. But, there is lots of relaxing as well. We found it catered to everyone. We also experienced very nice weather, it rained maybe two times for less than half an hour each time while we were on board. (It poured while we were in Key West.)

- The first time we booked with Carlson Wagonlit. This this time with Cruise ship centres. We will be re-booking on board in March for next spring break I believe Costco books travel from the US..I have not seen it in Canada. You should check allseastravel.com they provide the prices without airfare on-line. Also, many people say good things about dreams unlimited the hosts of this discussion board.


- DCL was the best vacation for our family. Our son loved going to the clubs and he really enjoyed himself. My husband and I enjoyed some time to ourselves. It was the best mix for us. We are doing the land and sea this year..however next year we will be returning to the Western Itininary. (Sp??) We loved the ports that Disney stopped at. The ship is beautiful. I can go on and on..but will not bore you.

I believe that you will be happy with Disney,
Let us know your decision
Vivian

 

[Timon]

I have a review of our 2002 7- day Magic on my website . It has TONS of photos! If you are interested...

click on the cass world link below THEN
click on Trip Reports THEN
click on Disney Magic Cruise 2002

Enjoy!

 

[Katdb]

Hi NorthernON_MOM,

I'm not sure how old your kids are, but I have rarely seen kids running around on the ship because they're kept so busy with the clubs. I have only been to the teenclub, but I do know that all the childrens clubs are run by absolutely fabulous counsellors and that your kids probably won't want to leave.

That being said, there is plenty for you to do, even if the weather is lousy. Onn our cruise in 2002, we had (and I quote the captain) "... the longest span of highest winds he had ever encountered in his sailing career...". Needless to say, going out on deck was not condusive to a nice, neat hairstyle and it was rather chilly to swim. However, we found lots of stuff to do At that point I was in the teen club, but I was also almost 18, so I did a lot of the adult activities with my mom (the ones that were designed by adults but not strictly for adults... the over 18 activities I did not participate in as those are the rules, no matter how close I was to 18 I wasn't going to break them).

Some great things to do:
Adult Enttertainment series (I learnt how to fold napkins, saw a behind the seens tour of the galley and the Walt Disney Theatre), there's swimming, sports, spa the list goes on and on. And then of course you have ports to stop at. If you go one the Western, you have one more port than the Eastern and one less day at sea. So if you really think you'll be board (impossible as it may be ) you might want to try the Western.

Also check the web for navigators, you can see ALL the activities available on the ship!

I'm working on some trip reviews (and consequently my website... learning HTML is hard!) but there's lots of reviews on the cruise board, and I'm sure that wether we're from Canada, UK, USA etc, wouldn't make much of a difference.

Hope this helps!
Katdb

 

[Tiger926]

Any Costco member in the world can book through Costco: 1 877 849 2730. You get a member discount - I checked allseas and found their prices to be the same as DCL for our cruise in May. Also, have never had success with booking through CAA - too busy, don't return calls, prices are same as DCL. I would definitely try Costco as you will always save money with them. Dreams Unlimited may be an option as well. I would get several quotes as we did, our Sears TA would not match price, and so now we are booking through Costco. Remember before booking, to check online through DCL or call them to make sure that you are getting a good price.

Good luck, Tiger

 

[Lynda Silk]

Hi,
We've been on 2 Disney cruises (Jan 2002 - 4nightland/3night cruise, and Oct 2002 - 3 night cruise) and they were both fabulous! We've booked the 7 day Eastern cruise sailing Oct 30.I have 2 kids, DS is now 11 years old and DD is 9 years old, and they both can't wait for our next cruise!

To answer your questions, here are my comments:

1. My kids liked the kids' clubs but they actually prefer to stay with my DH and I. They spent some time at the clubs on the first cruise, but on the second cruise, they didn't have time to go to the clubs at all! They swam in the Mickey and Goofy pools, watched the shows and movies, played in the arcade, played basketball and just relaxed with us while we read our books. Of course, they loved Castaway Cay and besides the beach and the snorkelling, loved the dinosaur dig they have for the kids.

2. The weather was kind of cool and windy when we went in Jan 2002 so it was kind of cold to sit out by the pool for too long. But the balcony attached to our cabin was fine and we spent a lot of time just relaxing and reading there. There always seemed to be a lot to do and I know we were never bored!

3. We use the American Express travel agency in Toronto and they've always been good. I don't know if they get us the cheapest rate or not; we always book about a year in advance and you usually get the best rates the earlier you book.

4. The Disney cruises are wonderful!!!! The food is great, the 3 restaurant concept provides lots of variety, the crew is fantastic and we were never bored! Everyone is so nice and determined to give you a fabulous vacation; you feel so pampered! The ship is absolutely gorgeous and the cabins are quite spacious. My family just love the DCL; they do everything so well. If you look at the DCL forum on disboards, you'll find a lot of other people who will agree. Book now! You'll never regret it! And it's true, it doesn't matter if you're from Canada, the US or the UK or otherwise, you'll have a fabulous vacation on the DCL no matter where you're from!

Hope this helps! Go Leafs Go!

 

[NorthernON_MOM]

Thanks. I sent you a private message, please take a look @ it.

 

[avdeane]

I was wondering if the cruise would be fun for a couple without the kids? My hubby and I are planning a vacation just the two of us and I thought the cruise might be a good idea? Any thoughts from those who have been on the cruise? Thanks!!

 

[Lynda Silk]

Hi Vicky!
I would think that a couple without kids would still have a great time as long as you're not looking for a casino. There are adult only areas like the pool and on Castaway Cay, and I've never noticed the ship inundated by kids (probably because they're all busy in the kids' clubs and doing other things). There are a lot of activities like the movies, shows and classes that are meant for adults, not to mention the clubs at night. You should try to take a look at the Navigators (the daily handout that you receive on the ship that lists all the activities) to see what kinds of things there are to do; you can see these at www.castawayclub.com.

And of course there are plenty of excursions and things to do in the port for adults only. Castaway Cay is absolutely wonderful and as I mentioned earlier, there is an adults only beach. I think you can have a great time on the DCL with or without kids! A lot of the parents put their kids in the kids' clubs because they want to enjoy the adult only activities.

 

[avdeane]

Thanks Lynda! I will definitely check out the website and look further into the cruise! Both hubby and I have wanted to do a cruise but I also want to go back to WDW. So this would be the best of both worlds!!


Thanks again!

 

[cdnmickeylover]

We are a couple who cruised without kids and had a great time. We never felt that the Magic was over run with kids or that there was nothing for us to do. We swam in the adults only pool and one time we were the only ones in the pool. At Castaway Cay we were to the adults only beach and it was great -- we even had lunch there. This was our first cruise and we loved it so much that we are booked to go again in October. Any questions please ask.

 

[NorthernON_MOM]

Please see your private messages.

 

[cdnmickeylover]

I replied.

 

[lilsonicfan]

this is all great information! But why, might i ask, is the word "******" starred out?

 

[NorthernON_MOM]

That was very helpful.

 

[avdeane]

Another question!!

I am trying to decide between the two land and sea packages. Which is more preferrable? I know hubby would probably enjoy the 4 nights sea/ 3 nights land option more, but since the land part of the trip falls on the weekend, I'm not sure whether it would be better to go the other route, 4 nights land/ 3 nights sea. Because we haven't decided on when to take our next vacation I'm not sure about dates. I'm assuming the weekends are generally busier in the parks at any time of the year.

 

[Lynda Silk]

Hi,
My advice would be to take the 3dayland/4daysea option. Although it would be nice to have the extra day in WDW, it's even nicer to have the 4 day cruise! We did the 3dayland/4daysea in 1/2002 and it was great! We also did the 3 day cruise only in 10/2002 and it was a little short; one more day on the ship would have been a lot better (of course, 4 more days would have even been better!).

Re the parks on the weekends, I have only found that Magic Kingdom is a real zoo on the weekends; the other parks are busier but not crazy. I certainly wouldn't let it result in one less day on the ship.

Also, it's easier to go back to WDW as opposed to going on another Disney Cruise so you should maximize the time on the cruise.

Just my opinion!

 

[avdeane]

Thanks for your thoughts Lynda! I've also thought about adding a couple of days to the trip afterwards so that we can spend more time at WDW. Guess that will depend on when we decide to go.

Thanks again!