First time Cruise family w kids 9 and 4

[lovemymac]

We have never been on a cruise before. But our 10th wedding Anniversary is coming up and so we finally decided to take the plunge and do something special.

Our plan is first to figure out which cruise we want we are looking at either
4 night to Bahamas from port Canaveral
7 night eastern Caribbean from PC
and 7 Night Western Caribbean from PC

Then we plan to go a day early stay a night at either BC or CR then go to the ship.
Then on the way back we will do the same thing come back from the ship spend a day at disney resort before going home
Our daughter will be 9 when we go and our boy just will turn 4. Our daughter saw a video showing what kids get to do and she was super excited about going and seeing. Im not sure she will leave the ship haha.
Our Boy i think once he sees all the rooms especially the monsters inc room he will be super excited to. He loves that movie watches at least a few times a week along with monsters University. He also loves Toy story so I'm sure he will have a blast too.

We are trying to figure out which cruise would have the best spots for all of us. I always wanted to visit Atlantis because i didn't think anything else would have anything to do but when reading i find neat things at all the ports.
So from all of you with experience which one of these would offer the best fun for all?

thanks
and any advice from seasoned cruisers is welcome

 

[Jennifer777]

We've done the eastern caribbean cruise and the 3 day Bahamian cruise where we did a day trip to Atlantis and I definitely preferred the eastern caribbean ports and cruise altogether. Atlantis was neat to see but I'm not sure I would ever go there again. Also, four days is really not much time on the ship, even with a 7 day cruise you won't have enough time to see/do everything.

I have done a western caribbean cruise with another cruise line (which was a nightmare), and I wasn't thrilled with the ports. They just didn't feel as safe for me.

We did pre and post cruise stays at WDW this last time and it was nice having something to look forward to when you're getting off the ship. Makes leaving a little easier.

 

[amanda ek]

We did a 4 might Bahamas and 7 night eastern (will do western in jan 2016). I would suggest not getting off the boat in nassua to have another day to enjoy the ship. We did the short cruise in combo with multiple days at disney (stayed at yacht club...love that yacht club/beach club pool). We did the long cruise on its own and really enjoyed all the at sea days and st Thomas.

I would suggest looking at the port adventures and seeing what interests you guys and picking from there.

 

[lovemymac]

We had heard that Nassau was something to see but are we wrong? that was the whole point to go to that cruise as the aquarium and the sites someone said were great.
but i keep thinking 4 days is so short.

 

[Jennifer777]

Nassau itself is not impressive in my opinion. Atlantis is ok, although watching their advertisements and looking through their website I expected to be blown away and I just wasn't. Atlantis is a big place and unless you buy water park passes, you can't use that part of it. Unless you pay for the dolphin encounters, you can't take part in that. The underwater aquarium was ok. It just seemed like it wasn't very well taken care of but that was a year and a half ago, maybe it's better now. We made it through the aquarium in about 30 minutes, sat on the beach for less than two hours and then ended up going back to the ship early. If you really want to see Atlantis, you would probably be better off staying there instead of a short day trip while on a cruise. At least then you could use all the amenities and have time to explore the whole place.

Or, if you really want to do Nassau but also want more time on the ship you could consider a back to back 4 and 3 day Bahamian cruises. That would give you 7 nights, 2 stops at castaway cay and two stops in Nassau.

 

[lovemymac]

what made you feel not safe about western vs the eastern? thank you for the help

 

[Jennifer777]

Granted, my western caribbean cruise was over a decade ago so things could have changed since then but I experienced far more aggressive street vendors on the western caribbean cruise with a couple actually putting their hands on me to pull me into their shops or put jewelry on me. It was incredibly crowded in the shopping areas and, being Mexico, we were warned not to drink the water or even have a drink with ice cubes so I was not comfortable enjoying a fruity tropical drink on the beach like I would have done in St. John/St. Thomas/St. Maarten, etc. The beaches at many of the upscale resorts in Cozumel are beautiful though so if that's what you're going there for, you could probably have a good time with a day pass at one of those resorts. For me I just felt safer walking around, eating, drinking, interacting with vendors in the eastern caribbean ports than I did the western.

 

[lovemymac]

Well we are thinking of which would be best with the kids more so then what we would do. We don't drink or anything. I do not like aggressive street venders i hate going to the state fair because you get the guys who run the games who yell and try to persuade you to play the games or guess weight or they run out to you and stuff and i hate that. I just want to relax and enjoy my time. Part of the reason we chose Disney not some other cruise lines as they are more party cruises or i have read stories of people bring totally drunk and so on.

I will definitely take your advice into consideration

 

[Luvzmy3boys]

Hi. We did 4 night Bahamas 3 yrs ago and Western 2 months ago but have not done Eastern. Kids were 4-9 at time of last trip and we did not feel at all unsafe in any of the ports on Western route but we always do Disney excursions for convenience- Xcaret (ferry to Playa deal Carmen from Cozumel), tikka beach in Grand Cayman, and Jewel Beach resort in Jamaica (loved it). The only place the vendors were more persistent was Mexico but it was just as bad in Nassau. I would have been comfortable booking an excursion in Cozumel itself on my own or Grand Cayman which is pretty low key IMHO. DH feels the 7 night cruises are too long but kids and I disagree. That being said we r going back on Dream next summer to humor him. Might check out Atlantis next time but we loved the Blue Lagoon dolphin swim. We prefer cruises with more port days so did not book the Eastern. Keep in mind your excusion options if you sign up with DCL or if your 4yo is not super adventurous like mine may be more limited because of your son's age and if you opt to keep the family together. your kids will have a great time whichever itinerary you choose. Good luck!

 

[scootch]

We love Atlantis, that being said, 7 nights on the Fantasy is just paradise. We have done 2 Easterns on the Fantasy, heading to our first Western at the end of the month. We love the newer ships, mainly for the kids clubs. Now my daughter is 13 and is bummed she can't go to Oceanears Club(well except during open house times). She is one of those kids who you pick up the last night and they cry because it is over, lol. You will have a great trip.

 

[lovemymac]

I think the same 4 nights seems like awhile but i just know 4 nights will go by like that and even 7 nights will. But i am liking the western i think and maybe not even bothering with mexico and using that as a ship day. But jamica and Grand Cayman if for nothing else just to shop and sight see a little.

 

[iambrink]

We have done a 3, 4, and 7 night, both Western and Eastern. DD - 11 at the time hated the Mexican ports. We just got off the ship and walked around and then shop owners were pushy trying to get us into their shops. We did try to explain to her why we, as tourists, were so important to their economy, but it freaked her out. She still says she will not go back to Mexico. We did Eastern in April and really enjoyed the ports. We have been to Nassau twice; we didn't get off the second time. I am going in December and don't plan on getting off at Nassau either. I have always wanted to visit Atlantis too, but have never taken the plunge. I would pick the number of days based on what fits your budget and time. There is a much different feel to the longer cruises as people tend to be more relaxed i think because they have longer to enjoy the ship. The shorter cruises can be a little more hectic if you are trying to get in as much as possible. I find each cruise more and more relaxing and enjoyable because we have only done the Dream and Fantasy, so we already know the layout and don't have to spend as much time exploring and getting to know the ships. Each cruise is so much different than the one before, even on the same ship.

 

[amanda ek]

I have been to cozumel maybe 4 times on other cruises over the years and am never really excited about it. Didn't get off the boat one of the times. We will be stopping there on our January magic cruise and I'm actually looking forward to the beach break playa Mia excursion.
For nassua, we got off the boat once and just did the straw market area. I don't recall buying anything, just walking around. Did not get off the boat the second time. We did not do Atlantis bc all the excursions seemed way over priced.