Eastern Caribbean or Western?

[rexxp]

We've never been on a cruise before but we've finally decided to do it this year and we have chosen the Disney Cruise because of our three year old son. As indicated on the Disney brochure, there are two types of Disney cruise, one is the Eastern Caribbean and the other is the Western Caribbean.

For those who have experienced both cruises, which one would be more enjoyable for a three year old boy? The Eastern or Western?

Also, I have been reading some articles on cruises and some have suggested to get the cheapest room because you're spending most of the time outside and it's really not worth paying for the more expensive rooms? Any thoughts would be appreciated?

And lastly, where can I get the best deal?

Thank you

 

[kcashner]

Ok...there are actually 4 different DCL cruises available. The Wonder does 3 and 4 day cruises. The Magic does 7 day Eastern and Western cruises. There are also occasional "special" cruises that do an unusual route.

As to which a 3 year old would like more, I don't think it makes any difference at all. The children's program is basically the same. As to the ports of call...they both have aquariums where you can touch the sea life, etc. Again, at that age, I don't think it would matter.

For YOU, we like the Eastern better because it has an extra sea day and more adult programming. We like being on the ship. I'd suggest that you look at the different ports and decide which appeals to you more.

We book low end cabins. First, you do sometimes get an upgrade (we've gotten 2 on a total of 9 cruises on DCL). Secondly, you spend little awake time in the cabin. All cabins, cat 10-5 are the same size--the difference is location on the ship, inside, outside with porthole, or outside with verandah. We usually book an 11, which has a single bathroom rather than a divided bath. For 2 of us, that really doesn't matter. For more people, the split bath is really nice. It is just a matter of how much you want to spend. The difference between a cat 11 and a cat 6 can double the cost of the cruise. We'd rather do it twice in a lower cabin than once with a verandah. We had the verandah once.

 

[jel0511]

Since you'll be traveling with a 3 YO, I'd recommend a veranda cabin. My kids are/were napping at that age still, and the veranda was a nice place to sit while they were napping. I was able to get some sun and sea air, and they were able to get their much needed snooze. If I or DH had to sit in the cabin, either one with a window or an inside cabin for 2 hours, I'd gone NUTS. To me the veranda is the only way to travel with little kids, since you do spend a lot of time in the room with them.