First cruise, need help!

[Bird003]

Hello, we are a family of three. Our daughter is 8. We are current pass holders but are not going to renew next year due to prices at parks. We are going to try a cruise because people rave about them. All of the research is overwhelming. Any advice or suggestions for ships to try for our first cruise would be greatly appreciated. We want good food and our daughter to have as much stuff as possible to do and see

 

[Mags2002]

Hi! Welcome to the DCL family
Choose and itinerary rather than a ship for your first cruise. The ships offer similar things in terms of meals, activities, characters etc so base your decision on where you would like to go.
Your daughter will have a blast in the Youth Acitivites spaces! There is always fun programs, games and other activities happening.
Does she enjoy meeting the characters?

 

[Bird003]

Hi! Welcome to the DCL family
Choose and itinerary rather than a ship for your first cruise. The ships offer similar things in terms of meals, activities, characters etc so base your decision on where you would like to go.
Your daughter will have a blast in the Youth Acitivites spaces! There is always fun programs, games and other activities happening.
Does she enjoy meeting the characters?

Yes she does!

 

[Mags2002]

Yes she does!

Who is her favorite? Just be aware that the characters you can meet on the ships is not as varied as it is in the parks!

 

[Bird003]

Who is her favorite? Just be aware that the characters you can meet on the ships is not as varied as it is in the parks!

She loves princesses and Pluto . They do change lol. We think a four night sail would be good. Not ready to commit to a full 7 days

 

[Mags2002]

She loves princesses and Pluto . They do change lol. We think a four night sail would be good. Not ready to commit to a full 7 days

She will definitely be able to meet some Princesses and Pluto!
That sounds like a good idea, that way if you hate it you are not stuck onboard, and if you love it you can book another cruise!

 

[dclpluto]

She loves princesses and Pluto . They do change lol. We think a four night sail would be good. Not ready to commit to a full 7 days

I would not recommend anyone taking a short cruise on their very first cruise unless it has to do with $$$$. My first one was a short seven night cruise way too short for the first one. Second one was a 14 night. Third one was a 15 night. Fourth one was a 12 night not dcl. After that I felt it was ok to go back to the 7 night cruises. So glad I got some longer cruises in while we were still new to cruising. So much to see and do. A short 4 night is better than no cruise at all. I will be going on a short 4 night in under two weeks to try out the wish. To each their own. Whatever you choose I’m sure you will have a great time.

 

[Geomom]

We choose our cruises by itinerary first--we did the 7 night Wonder to Alaska. (Alaska got us interested in cruising...sailing Disney made us cruise again!). We have only done 7 night cruises. Shorter cruises can feel more hectic, everyone is trying to get everything done in 3-4 days vs 7....but 4 nts is better than 3!

 

[DCLMP]

Our first four cruises were 4 nights combined with 5 or so nights at WDW. I think 4 nights is fine to see if you like cruising. If you are traveling across the country then maybe a 7 night would be better. If you're within a short flight or driving distance I think the 4 nights are a perfect introduction to cruising.

We live on the west side of the country and even after several cruises, we've traveled to San Diego for a couple of short cruises. We've done several long cruises out of Europe, but those short cruises that don't involve a lot of travel to get there are just as special.

 

[Scubadaddy32]

We took a 4 night on the Wish in Feb., also our first cruise, and we could not have been more pleased with our decision. Like others have said, a 4 night will be long enough to figure out if you are a cruise person. There are some differences with the ships, so check out the cabins, the bathrooms and the rest of the ships. There are tons of videos on YouTube to glance through. All the ships look like a lot of fun and I know many cruise Vets have their favorites. I don't think you can make a bad choice in the DCL fleet.

 

[Scottishdisneyfan]

Do the 7night cruise in Alaska, its special.

 

[ditchdiggert200]

I will agree with several previous posts.
1- Choose itinerary and what works for your schedule over trying to do a specific ship. If there are several that sound good to you, then get down to the nitty and gritty of that decision at that point.
2- Do the amount of days you feel comfortable with due to scheduling and costs involved. There have been several trips for us that have come down to when we can go and what we were able to do.

I could say with nearly 99% efficiency that every cruiser here will take more days on the ship than fewer days. It's just how cruising works. The more you do it and enjoy it, the more you want to me on the ships.

That being said for a 'test waters feeling' 3-5 days IMHO would be a good option.

My mother-in-law sailed for the first time ever over Labor Day weekend and was terrified leading up to the cruise. She doesn't like water, is afraid of boats, etc. She decided to cruise because it was with her grandbabes (they're 14 & 11 and have sailed DCL 2x) and thought she would try it for them. Ended up LOVING the cruise, didn't want to leave after only 3 nights, booked a placeholder, and is telling me, "let me know once you figure out where we are sailing to next."

All of that rambling, to say this: IMHO try something that works in your schedule in the 3-5 day range on any DCL ship and you will know pretty quick if cruising is for you. There will be plenty of opportunities for Meet and Greets all over the ship at many times during the day. If you go hungry on DCL, you're trying. There is a ton of great food and most of it is included in your cruise fair. There are several speciality eateries, depending on which ship you decide to sail on that do cost extra. Enjoy the planning process!

 

[pearljammer]

Hello, we are a family of three. Our daughter is 8. We are current pass holders but are not going to renew next year due to prices at parks. We are going to try a cruise because people rave about them. All of the research is overwhelming. Any advice or suggestions for ships to try for our first cruise would be greatly appreciated. We want good food and our daughter to have as much stuff as possible to do and see

How exciting. You know, it’s hard to answer which ship, etc. as they are all different in their own ways. Also, for the first cruise, we did a shorter one (not a 7 night) and I think it worked out perfectly in a sense that it was short enough it left us wanting more while also having the experience to determine if it was something we would want to do again. At the end of the day for us, costs and impact to school drove some of our decisions. Itenerary may not be as much of a factor given you’ve not done it before.

As much as you may try to plan what you want to do, you may find “winging” it may be more relaxing. What I remember most at the age of 8 were the kids clubs. Ours would either be in there longer than we thought so I’d keep checking on him (LOL - you never stop being a mom) OR wouldn’t be in there as long as I thought. Standing in lines for pictures can be a lot. Don’t try to do everything. If you have a popcorn bucket from the parks, take it to get popcorn “refills” which is MUCH cheaper than purchasing a bucket on the boat for movies or shows. And keep in mind, all the running around, pics, dinners, etc. can be a lot so she’ll likely get to sleep with NO problemo! I think once you pick your boat/itenerary, it will be easier for you to then plan other things.

So in summary, there may be other factors which may drive your decision. For example, which port is most cost efficient to get to for the 3 of you. If it’s anything other than PC, then that will limit the when, where and ship. As you know, if you go out of PC, this takes out the Magic, Wonder, etc.

I think your first will have you wanting more so get your on board discount - if you end up not cruising again, you get your money back. But if you leave without it, well….you can’t get that discount back. Enjoy! We always get excited, no matter the what and where. *wink*

 

[Anna131517]

We did a 4 night cruise on the Wish out of Port Canaveral this last winter and we all had a blast. Our kids were 9, 7, and 6 when we sailed. There is so much to do on a Disney ship you really don’t need to get off to have fun. We stayed onboard at Nassau (enjoyed the Hero Zone and pools) and only got off at Castaway Cay. The kids LOVED the kids club.

Our first cruise with DCL was on the Fantasy in the Western Caribbean for 7 nights before the pandemic. The kids were 2, 4, and 5 for that cruise. We had a good time but they weren’t really into the kids clubs, the dining venues were a little too loud and crowded, and I regretted doing so many port excursions because we didn’t get to fully explore the ship. That’s why we chose a ship with fewer ports the second time.

Sometimes less is more with kids. Try a shorter cruise and see how it goes. We did combine our cruises with a day or two at Disney and a Disney resort because we just couldn’t help ourselves - we were so close!

 

[Bird003]

I really appreciate all the replies

 

[SandyinMonterey]

I have done two 7 night cruises on the Fantasy and one 4 night on the Wish. Family of 3. I've cruised many times before but was the first for my husband and daughter. Daughter was 10 for the first cruise, 17 for second and 18 on the Wish. Both have said that 4 nights is not long enough, and I agree. With a 4 night, you're just getting a feel for the ship and it's time to get off. We are not big on excursions. Second Fantasy cruise, we didn't get off ship. My husband and daughter went in Nassau when we sailed the Wish. The weren't there very long and said it was underwhelming. That opinion changes for me if we were to go to Alaska. If it's within your budget, I reccommend at least a 7 night cruise.

 

[algae]

Some thoughts about deciding on the length of the cruise to test the waters the way we tend to cruise:

• Be careful about counting days vs nights to measure the length of the cruise. The last day is the day you get off the ship at some ridiculously early time of day and nothing is really open on that day. It shouldn't really count as a "day" in my opinion.
• The first day can be a rough day since you spend a lot of time figuring out where things are and you can't get into the stateroom until mid afternoon. Combine that with dinner, a show, and getting your luggage squared away, the whole first day is gone as well.
• The night before the end of the sailing, you have to pack all your (big) luggage and get them outside your stateroom by about 10PM. So, you may spend a good amount of time that evening just packing and not able to enjoy the ship.

So, we take the length of the cruise in days and subtract about 2.5. That will give you a sense of how much "fun" time you can have on the ship. Subtract days with excursions like Castaway Cay and other ports of call to get a sense of how much "ship" time you'll have for things like character photos and other on-board fun.

For us, a 5-day sailing on a Disney ship is on the edge of not being enough time to really enjoy all the ship has to offer. Keep in mind that lots of character photos require lots of waiting in lines (we do that ). Also, you can spend many hours riding the Aqua Duck/Mouse over and over and over and over as well.

Like others have said, the ship doesn't matter quite as much since the Disney ships are all similar in feel. However, I'd say the Fantasy and Magic are our favorite Disney ships. Sailings with fewer than 5 days is way too rushed to get a good feel for cruising on Disney.