First DCL Cruise Questions

[jvncnt]

Thanks to everyone for all of the prior posts on the board. I have been lurking for a while, and we have booked our first DCL cruise, and only second cruise of our lives. For a little information, we are WDW veterans who are going to try a split vacation with a short (3 day) cruise in early November followed by 6 days at WDW. I know that some prefer to cruise after WDW, but that won't work for our schedule. It is myself, my wife and our 8 year old son (first cruise ever for him!)

Now to the questions:

1. Currently scheduled to fly into MCO on Nov. 3 (early evening to late evening), with DCL transport from the MCO Hyatt on Nov. 4 for boarding, etc. Is there any advantage to getting to Port Canaveral on the night of Nov. 3 and staying there, and then going to board the ship the next morning? It appears from prior threads that DCL transported people might board first, so perhaps not?

2. On the single cruise that my wife and I went on in 2004, we were in an aft cabin (very back of ship) and loved the view, etc. On this cruise, I selected the room online and after looking on here, see that I have picked the dreaded tiny verandah (room 5188), which I should have figured since it was the only open aft verandah. We don't mind the size of the verandah, but did see complaints about noise from a below kids "nightclub" or something? There are other open cabins near the rear that wouldn't cost much more. Have I put us in a miserable cabin or am I worrying about nothing?

3. At WDW we are experienced with scheduling character meals, fastpass+, etc. Is there anything on the ship (Disney Dream) that we should be scheduling this far in advance that we just shouldn't miss even on a short cruise like this?

Any advice on the above is really appreciated. Thanks!

 

[cedricandsophie]

I can't speak to the room location but I don't thnk it matters where you stay night before. You will be assigned an arrival time and then when you check in at port you will get a boarding number. Regardless of what time you arrive at port you can't board until your number comes up. As for scheduling ahead of time, we have only done seven day or more cruises so I'm not sure what they have on three day cruises. You can sign up for palo or Remy ahead of time. As well as excursions. There may be some character meets you sign up for once you get on ship, cocktail tastings, etc

 

[New England Mickey]

Well, I've stayed overnight before my cruise for the past 2 cruises. I didn't stay at the Hyatt, I stayed at the Quality Inn. From the Quality Inn they had airport transportation to and from MCO as the Hyatt does. Next morning I just went to the airport and took the disney bus down the ship last cruise. If you're not taking the disney cruise line bus then you have to have a separate shuttle company like Mears take you down there. I considered staying at PC last cruise but decided it was too much off a hassle for me. So, not speaking for you here but I'd personally just stay near MCO.

 

[Quellman]

2. 5188 is a small cabin for sure with a balcony. It doesn't have chairs outside, just a bench, but room enough for 2. You can try the search function, but I did find this thread HERE. If you need an aft balcony, and that is your only choice then so be it! Though for most people on a 3 day cruise, they often do not find themselves spending much time in the room. So only you can measure the value of having an aft room, vs rooms else where. There is an adults club on deck 4 aft, so while there aren't many reports of noises, it exists. See the stateroom reviews HERE.

We have stayed directly aft on 2 cruises (8188 and 8682) and know there are certainly vibrations as the ship comes and goes from port with the thrusters in use. Though we were in a 5e room and the balconies were HUGE.