First DCL experience next year - questions

[sadiwest]

Very excited to have booked our first cruise through DCL. Experienced cruisers include dh, me, and dd (10 when we travel. 4 cruises and one WDW visit under her belt).

Doing 5 night late September in 2020 from PC, then 3 nights WDW. Questions include:

Anyone have experience with crowd sizes at this time of year both on the ship and WDW?

Age ranges that time of year?

It's too far out to book a flight yet, but we're arriving in FLA one day prior and figure two park days total. Is it realistic to actually do anything between cruise and resort, time-wise? I have no sense of the time it takes to go from leaving the ship to getting anywhere.

It seems there are a lot of benefits to having cruised DCL before (early booking of some things, etc) but we haven't. Im hoping/assuming we won't be shut out of experiences if im diligently looking for openings as soon as the booking windows open? I mean.... do they reserve some openings for non-returning guests?

I'm sure I'll have other questions. Tia for your answers.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

The ship will sell our, but may not have a lot of kids.

It is about 2-3 hours from FL up to PC and WDW.

 

[diznymom]

You might reconsider and do WDW first, then cruise. WDW will be exhausting and the cruise will be relaxing. We like to take the DCL bus from WDW resort to the ship (about an hour drive). We don't like to drive while on vacation.

The main thing that sells out are the cabanas on Castaway Cay. Some of the excursions might sell out. Experiences on board the ship, like brunch / dinner at Palos and the Frozen & Princess meet and greets can be obtained once onboard if sold out online.

 

[dprincessmom]

Benefits for repeat cruisers vs first timer: there are different windows and there will be sell outs, but unless you have your heart set on something it shouldn't impact your trip (unless it's a cabana at Castaway - those are hard to come by for everyone). When I start looking at port excursions I try to pick 2 or 3 and rank them in priority, that way when booking comes if there is a problem you already have another plan. On our first cruise (4 nights) I didn't book any excursions beforehand and we had a fantastic time.

Late September depending on the park days will be crowded at times because you have Food and Wine at Epcot and the Halloween parties at Magic Kingdom driving non party goers to other parks. A little planning, looking at park hours and party schedules will make for a smoother trip.

 

[lanejudy]

we're arriving in FLA one day prior and figure two park days total.

Are you indicating you are flying into the Fort Lauderdale airport one day prior? Or did you simply mean flying to Florida one day prior, presumably the Orlando International Airport (often abbreviated MCO)? As PP mentions, Ft. Lauderdale is a few hours' drive from WDW, so I wouldn't plan a park day on arrival except maybe evening, depending on your flight time.

And "two park days total" - were you thinking before the cruise or 1 before and 1 after? The morning of embarkation doesn't leave much time for a park, though some can squeeze it in with very specific plans and arriving at the port in the afternoon. If you are staying at WDW -- or the airport -- for a night post-cruise, you can get in a park day. But unless you have an evening flight, I wouldn't try to do WDW on debarkation day prior to a flight. Again, some people do squeeze it in, but not worth it for me.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[dvcgirl1]

I agree with others that you might want to consider doing WDW before the cruise, as going to the parks tends to be a pretty tiring adventure. FL is usually very hot that time of year too, which takes even more out of you. Then you can get on the boat and just relax, rest, and eat some good food.