First Disney Cruise

[Terk-1]

So I decided to take my first Disney cruise (solo) late next year (early November), but have alot of questions.

1. Should I do a 4 day cruise & add WDW with it? I was thinking of going to WDW the last week of October to see the parks in the fall, as well as MNSSHP. Is this a good idea or is it too crowded?

2. Should I do a 7 day caribbean cruise? If so, which one?

3. How are the interior staterooms? Do you feel cramped and closed in or is there alot of space? How noisy are the interior rooms? Which deck level is the best one for an interior room? Do they offer free/complimentary upgrades on Disney cruises? Does anyone have photos of interior rooms? What is the difference between the standard interior & deluxe interior room?

4. Is it worth the extra $$ to get an oceanview room (porthole)?

5. Does it cost extra to dine at Palo's?

6. Is there somewhere to find restaurant menus?

7. What is not included in the cruise?

8. How early can you board the boat?

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

So I decided to take my first Disney cruise (solo) late next year (early November), but have alot of questions.

1. Should I do a 4 day cruise & add WDW with it? I was thinking of going to WDW the last week of October to see the parks in the fall, as well as MNSSHP. Is this a good idea or is it too crowded?


I love that time to go to WDW, I would book them seperatly often cheaper,It is not as crowded as July or September or holiday periods, I love the Halloween parties, there is one on ship as well on 31st

2. Should I do a 7 day caribbean cruise? If so, which one?

7 days if you can are the best, 4 go so quickly, and either is nice, I prefer Western as three ports of call + Castaway.

3. How are the interior staterooms? Do you feel cramped and closed in or is there alot of space? How noisy are the interior rooms? Which deck level is the best one for an interior room? Do they offer free/complimentary upgrades on Disney cruises? Does anyone have photos of interior rooms? What is the difference between the standard interior & deluxe interior room?

Upgrades are rare, book the room you will be happy with, you might get one, but as I say rare,I Prefer outside verandah rooms for thoose sea days.There is a great thread around virtual Stateroom tour, tha shows pictures, also under 'planning' above go to staterooms and they have pictures.
4. Is it worth the extra $$ to get an oceanview room (porthole)?

Will you do not feel so enclosed.- I do feel that that on inside rooms

5. Does it cost extra to dine at Palo's?

Yes $15pp for Brunch and Dinner, and $5 pp for afternoon tea, dinner each night Brunch and tea sea days only

6. Is there somewhere to find restaurant menus?

Various sites here under plannnig see above.
DCL site
http://www.magicalkingdoms.com/cruise/dining/index.html

7. What is not included in the cruise?

• TIPS Sever, Assistant Server, head server, Stateroom host.
• SHORE Trips
• Alcohol anywhere
• SPA Treatments
• Bars, all drinks inc Soft drinks+tip
• Palo Meals
• SPECIAL Drinks in restaurants Example Smoothies
• Shop purchases.
• Bingo
• Auctions
• Photos
• Soft Drinks through Room Service
• Pre-Packaged Snacks (candy, popcorn, etc.) at the theaters & through Room Service
• Cove Cafe Coffee/beverages
• Laundry -DCL Service & Self-Serve options


• transfers to and from the port
• bottled beverages like water, beer, or soda
• PC:gratuities for your porter
• gratuity for room service deliveries
• arcade games
• services for Flounder's Reef (daycare) at $6/hr for children that aren't old enough for the kids club
• internet connections

Soft drinks are free in the restaurants, Topsiders /beach blanket, and on deck 9 Soda station.


8. How early can you board the boat?

You can board the ship at 11.45am port opens 10am normally

 

[mmackeymouse]

I hate to be a complete noob idiot, but what is a porter?

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

I hate to be a complete noob idiot, but what is a porter?

Takes your bags from you at the port and delivers to the ship, Bell-Hop etc.

 

[tmws66]

Very nice job Andrew Derek UK. I think he covered everything.

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Very nice job Andrew Derek UK. I think he covered everything.

I tried,

Maybe more input from others on the staterooms, I tend only to know about the Cat 4's.

 

[mjy]

The only thing I would ask is: Have you ever cruised before?

If not, I always recommend a shorter one (3 or 4 day) first, just to make sure that you will like cruises and be able to tolerate them. Some people go on a long cruise as their first cruise and find out that they cannot cruise because of seasickness.

If you have cruised before, then I would definitely recommend the 7 day over the shorter one.

 

[samily]

Here's the link to the stateroom thread that Andrew refers to above:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1025732

This will give you a feel for the different stateroom categories.

You may also want to pick up a copy of the Passporter book for DCL - it has tons of helpful info...

Have fun planning!

 

[StitchMad]

4. Is it worth the extra $$ to get an oceanview room (porthole)?
We wouldn't. We get the rooms on Deck 5 with the secret porthole. They are the same price as an inside room, but they are actually on the outside with a porthole. The porthole is *obstructed, and that is why the price is only the same as an inside.

*The 2 secret porthole rooms we have visited have not been obstructed so much. They have both had a few life rafts outside, but still quite a clear view outside. I reccomend getting this. You save money, but still get the experience of looking out to sea.

 

[Terk-1]

The only thing I would ask is: Have you ever cruised before?

If not, I always recommend a shorter one (3 or 4 day) first, just to make sure that you will like cruises and be able to tolerate them. Some people go on a long cruise as their first cruise and find out that they cannot cruise because of seasickness.

If you have cruised before, then I would definitely recommend the 7 day over the shorter one.

I have not been on a cruise since 1995. I was thinking of trying the 4 night cruise & add a trip to WDW with it and if I like it, then do the 7 day caribbean cruise.

However, if I can convince family to go, then we will probably try the 7 day one.

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

I have not been on a cruise since 1995. I was thinking of trying the 4 night cruise & add a trip to WDW with it and if I like it, then do the 7 day caribbean cruise.

However, if I can convince family to go, then we will probably try the 7 day one.

I would go for the 7 night as you have cruised before, 4 nights too short.

 

[CyKosis]

Being my first cruise as well, how are the dinner restaurants picked for each day? I'm on a 3 day Wonder cruise and we want to skip out on Parrot Cay and go to Palo, but I don't know which day were suppose to eat at PC thus making it difficult to book Palo in advance.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Being my first cruise as well, how are the dinner restaurants picked for each day? I'm on a 3 day Wonder cruise and we want to skip out on Parrot Cay and go to Palo, but I don't know which day were suppose to eat at PC thus making it difficult to book Palo in advance.

Thanks in advance.

Hi, DCL puts you on one of three rotations, you will star in one of the restaurants and then visit the others each night, It often is dependent on your family and kids age, with young kids Starting in Animators, older kids Parrot Cay, and No kids or grown up Lumière's, but you can put in an request.

 

[CyKosis]

Thank you for the reply, one last thing that I have seen mentioned in a few other threads... is it ok to bring your own alcohol on board? If so, do you just pack it in your luggage or is it ok to bring it on in a backpack/day pack?

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Thank you for the reply, one last thing that I have seen mentioned in a few other threads... is it ok to bring your own alcohol on board? If so, do you just pack it in your luggage or is it ok to bring it on in a backpack/day pack?

Yes you can bring it on board, but do not put it in your luggage, either keep it seperate and clearly label it so they know what it is, or take through the Scanners at the port yourself,

I understand some liquids have leaked in luggage.

 

[spodie]

I know some of these have already been answered, but I'll just answer them all anyway.

1. Should I do a 4 day cruise & add WDW with it? I was thinking of going to WDW the last week of October to see the parks in the fall, as well as MNSSHP. Is this a good idea or is it too crowded?
From your signature, it looks like you've been to Disney a few times. If you can only do WDW if you take a 4-night cruise, I would skip WDW. Trust me, the longer cruise time is totally worth it.

2. Should I do a 7 day caribbean cruise? If so, which one?
That I don't know because I've only taken 3 and 4-night cruises (not really by choice). I do know that a 7 day cruise would be incredible!

3. How are the interior staterooms? I like them because it's always dark, so when you're asleep, the sun won't wake you up. Do you feel cramped and closed in or is there alot of space? If it's just you, you should have plenty of space. How noisy are the interior rooms? I never had a problem with noise in an interior room Which deck level is the best one for an interior room? Personally, I liked being on 7 because I spent a lot of time on decks 9 and 10, so it was far enough away from the noise, but close enough to get to them quickly Do they offer free/complimentary upgrades on Disney cruises? I'm not sure, but they're usually booked pretty solid, so I doubt they would have any available room. But it never hurts to ask. Does anyone have photos of interior rooms? You can get 360-degree views of all of the staterooms on the DCL website What is the difference between the standard interior & deluxe interior room? From the looks of things, it mainly just looks like the layouts are different, but I've only ever stayed in the deluxe inside stateroom and above, so I really can't compare and contrast

4. Is it worth the extra $$ to get an oceanview room (porthole)? For families with children, the oceanview rooms are great because it's hard to get everyone to a deck every time someone wants to see the ocean. Since it's just you, you can go out to the deck whenever you feel like it. I would say save your money for the trip.

5. Does it cost extra to dine at Palo's? Yes, $15 (which is totally worth it) for Dinner/Brunch or $5 for High Tea (not sure if it's worth it or not). You also need to do this in advance.

6. Is there somewhere to find restaurant menus? Yes, you can see sample menus on the DCL website

7. What is not included in the cruise? Alcohol, snacks or ANY kind of drink that you get at any of the theaters, stuff from the Coffee bar, dinner or brunch at Palo, excursions, or any souveniers.

8. How early can you board the boat? I'm not sure of that either. However, if you show up at around noon, you can pretty much walk through security and walk right up to check-in. At that point, even though you are assigned a boarding number, they pretty much do general boarding, so you can board whenever. Trust me, it's not a race.


The one piece of advice I can offer you is this: this is MUCH more relaxed than a WDW vacation, so take it slow and enjoy it - you don't have to run through everything to see it. And most importantly, HAVE FUN!