First time cruise help/split stay???

[KGmomoftwins]

In looking at what we want to do end of August 2019 I'm looking into doing a Disney Caribbean cruise. However, I have 2 big worries number 1 since we are new to cruising we would be last to reserve dining, meet and greets, and also I think excursions so I'm afraid to spend all that money and not get the things we want. Or is this a non issue from those with experience? Also we have 2 young daughters (6 at time of cruise) who have never been on a cruise and I'm worried about sea sickness on a 7 night cruise with so many at sea days. How do kids do on cruises? Hubby and I did a RCL for our honeymoon I was fine he had to wear a patch.

The other option I'm looking at is a slit park/cruise. So do the 3 night Bahama cruise followed by 4 nights at Disney world. We did a week this last summer and loved it but my husbands complaint was it was to jam packed and not restful. That's why I thought a cruise would be nice to relax. However, I wonder if a lot of our vacation time will be eaten up with transporting to and from port and the world and if we should fly in the night before the cruise. Anyone done this type of vacation your advice would be appreciated! TIA!!!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

number 1 since we are new to cruising we would be last to reserve dining, meet and greets, and also I think excursions so I'm afraid to spend all that money and not get the things we want.

I think it depends how strict you are about "what you want." For instance, on the 7-night I'm on, a lot of people are upset that they couldn't get the princess tea on Monday, rather than Wednesday. Wednesday is a port day, but most of the excursions are half-day excursions and the tea is at 3. Some of the excursions sold out before Silver booked, let alone newbies, but there are other excursions and options. If you are convinced you must have just THIS ONE excursion, or want to schedule M&Gs without flexibility, you will have issues. If you book concierge you'll bump up your booking dates - at a cost. But if you're really set on specific times or excursions, it may be worth it.

Kids do fine on cruises. They can be prone to seasickness just like adults.

if we should fly in the night before the cruise

Always fly in the night before. Any delays if you fly in day of, and pow, you miss the ship.

 

[Shanti]

In looking at what we want to do end of August 2019 I'm looking into doing a Disney Caribbean cruise. However, I have 2 big worries number 1 since we are new to cruising we would be last to reserve dining, meet and greets, and also I think excursions so I'm afraid to spend all that money and not get the things we want. Or is this a non issue from those with experience? Also we have 2 young daughters (6 at time of cruise) who have never been on a cruise and I'm worried about sea sickness on a 7 night cruise with so many at sea days. How do kids do on cruises? Hubby and I did a RCL for our honeymoon I was fine he had to wear a patch.

The other option I'm looking at is a slit park/cruise. So do the 3 night Bahama cruise followed by 4 nights at Disney world. We did a week this last summer and loved it but my husbands complaint was it was to jam packed and not restful. That's why I thought a cruise would be nice to relax. However, I wonder if a lot of our vacation time will be eaten up with transporting to and from port and the world and if we should fly in the night before the cruise. Anyone done this type of vacation your advice would be appreciated! TIA!!!

You have a lot of good questions, so I'll address them separately:

• You don't need to reserve regular dining for the family for your cruise. Your dinners in the themed main dining rooms will already be scheduled for you when you arrive on the ship, and all passengers get to experience all of the dining rooms. More informal dining at the buffet or grabbing counter-service food on the pool deck is also available daily.
• The only type of dining that requires reservations is the specialty dining at Palo & Remy, and they are adults-only. In my experience of booking cruises less than 2 months out from sail date (after everyone has already had a chance to reserve things), I've still been able to reserve specialty meals. Even if the specialty restaurants seem booked up in advance online, they hold many slots open for onboard booking, so you should be able to get a reservation there if you really want one.
• Most meet & greets require no reservation: they are scheduled in the Personal Navigator & you just show up. The only exception are princess meet & greets & Frozen meet & greets, which are ticketed. I have a boy, so I'm not the best person to respond about getting tickets for those. However, I do remember seeing availability for the Frozen meet & greet when we booked 45 days out, and I saw one princess meet & greet in the Personal Navigator that didn't appear to require tickets.
• You won't be able to get a cabana (almost no one can who isn't sailing concierge). Other than that, most activities on a Caribbean cruise will likely be available for booking.
• The DCL cruises are filled with kids & the vast majority have no seasickness issues. I get motion-sickness on land more than I do on the ships, for some reason. Bring medication in case anyone feels queasy, but otherwise I wouldn't worry about it. Avoid a forward stateroom if that's a concern, as those have the most movement.
• A 7-night cruise will be a lot more relaxing than a 3-night cruise/WDW combo, although the latter is very fun. If relaxation is the goal, do the 7-night. If fun is the goal, do the cruise/parks combo.
• Yes, I recommend flying in the night before the cruise. The airport Hyatt is a great place to spend the night.

A couple of comments unrelated to your questions:

• Be sure to get travel insurance when cruising in late August. That is peak hurricane season.
• If you sail on the Fantasy, I recommend avoiding aft staterooms, as some of them have serious vibration issues. (This is not an issue on the Dream, however.)

 

[MakiraMarlena]

At the very least, do the park days first and then the cruise. If someone is looking for relaxation they may not be thrilled with going from the relaxing cruise to the hectic parks, might be easier the other way around.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I just looked. For my sold-out, spring break cruise, I can still get nearly all the M&Gs and schedule adult dining. Would they be at "OMG PERFECT!!!" times if I were hung up on those things? Maybe not, dunno, because sea days are pretty mellow on my planet and I'm not wrung up about that. But I could still get Frozen and Princess Gathering. There are a few issues on SWDAS, but that wouldn't be in play in August. Might be possible to have issues scheduling BBB in front of a Princess Gathering, but even so, there would be multiple M&Gs in the Navigator after almost any BBB time not requiring pre-schedule.

Every adult drinking session is booked up. There are some excursions that are full, but plenty of good ones left.

CC cabanas have been gone since 120 days, and that's normal. It's best not to expect a cabana even if sailing concierge/platinum.

 

[Shanti]

At the very least, do the park days first and then the cruise. If someone is looking for relaxation they may not be thrilled with going from the relaxing cruise to the hectic parks, might be easier the other way around.

Some people prefer that, but I prefer to do the parks afterwards, because it gives you something to look forward to after the cruise. Disembarkation is pretty depressing when you're headed straight to the airport. But to each his own.

 

[mevelandry]

Always fly at least one night before the cruise because you never know what might happen.

We left a day early for our last cruise. The weather was perfect but for some reason, our plane never left Florida to get to Montreal. They had to send another plane to pick us up. We were supposed to be there around 10:30 AM that day and ended up arriving at 8:30 PM. Had we been flying in the same day, we would have missed our cruise!

Why not go for a 4 nights cruise + 2 or 3 days in WDW?

If you don't want to waste any time, you could stay at the Hyatt (in Orlando Airport) the night before the cruise and get to PC on the first shuttle!

 

[KGmomoftwins]

You have a lot of good questions, so I'll address them separately:

• You don't need to reserve regular dining for the family for your cruise. Your dinners in the themed main dining rooms will already be scheduled for you when you arrive on the ship, and all passengers get to experience all of the dining rooms. More informal dining at the buffet or grabbing counter-service food on the pool deck is also available daily.
• The only type of dining that requires reservations is the specialty dining at Palo & Remy, and they are adults-only. In my experience of booking cruises less than 2 months out from sail date (after everyone has already had a chance to reserve things), I've still been able to reserve specialty meals. Even if the specialty restaurants seem booked up in advance online, they hold many slots open for onboard booking, so you should be able to get a reservation there if you really want one.
• Most meet & greets require no reservation: they are scheduled in the Personal Navigator & you just show up. The only exception are princess meet & greets & Frozen meet & greets, which are ticketed. I have a boy, so I'm not the best person to respond about getting tickets for those. However, I do remember seeing availability for the Frozen meet & greet when we booked 45 days out, and I saw one princess meet & greet in the Personal Navigator that didn't appear to require tickets.
• You won't be able to get a cabana (almost no one can who isn't sailing concierge). Other than that, most activities on a Caribbean cruise will likely be available for booking.
• The DCL cruises are filled with kids & the vast majority have no seasickness issues. I get motion-sickness on land more than I do on the ships, for some reason. Bring medication in case anyone feels queasy, but otherwise I wouldn't worry about it. Avoid a forward stateroom if that's a concern, as those have the most movement.
• A 7-night cruise will be a lot more relaxing than a 3-night cruise/WDW combo, although the latter is very fun. If relaxation is the goal, do the 7-night. If fun is the goal, do the cruise/parks combo.
• Yes, I recommend flying in the night before the cruise. The airport Hyatt is a great place to spend the night.

A couple of comments unrelated to your questions:

• Be sure to get travel insurance when cruising in late August. That is peak hurricane season.
• If you sail on the Fantasy, I recommend avoiding aft staterooms, as some of them have serious vibration issues. (This is not an issue on the Dream, however.)

 

[KGmomoftwins]

Thank you so much! This was all awesome info! Any thoughts on what deck for the Fantasy? We don't mind having to walk a bit for a quieter room. My plan is whatever we decide to book as soon as Disney releases the August 2019 sail dates which I expect to be soon.

 

[KGmomoftwins]

Why not go for a 4 nights cruise + 2 or 3 days in WDW?
I was thinking of that but then it would mean being at MK on a weekend and I don't know if I can brave that as we've only ever done it on a Tuesday or Thursday...
If you don't want to waste any time, you could stay at the Hyatt (in Orlando Airport) the night before the cruise and get to PC on the first shuttle![/QUOTE]

 

[KGmomoftwins]

I just looked. For my sold-out, spring break cruise, I can still get nearly all the M&Gs and schedule adult dining. Would they be at "OMG PERFECT!!!" times if I were hung up on those things? Maybe not, dunno, because sea days are pretty mellow on my planet and I'm not wrung up about that. But I could still get Frozen and Princess Gathering. There are a few issues on SWDAS, but that wouldn't be in play in August. Might be possible to have issues scheduling BBB in front of a Princess Gathering, but even so, there would be multiple M&Gs in the Navigator after almost any BBB time not requiring pre-schedule.

Every adult drinking session is booked up. There are some excursions that are full, but plenty of good ones left.

CC cabanas have been gone since 120 days, and that's normal. It's best not to expect a cabana even if sailing concierge/platinum.

Cool thanks! I'm not so much hung up on the OMG perfect time just would like to be able to experience it. Is a cabana that amazing on CC? Just curious do you know if Rapunzel is on all the cruise ships?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Cool thanks! I'm not so much hung up on the OMG perfect time just would like to be able to experience it. Is a cabana that amazing on CC? Just curious do you know if Rapunzel is on all the cruise ships?

I don't know that they have Rapunzel on all the ships, every cruise. Some of it is about scheduling, KWIM? There is almost always a Cinderella.

I don't know what the cabana obsession is on CC. They're expensive!

 

[ahain]

Thank you so much! This was all awesome info! Any thoughts on what deck for the Fantasy? We don't mind having to walk a bit for a quieter room. My plan is whatever we decide to book as soon as Disney releases the August 2019 sail dates which I expect to be soon.

Contrary to what pp mentioned, we actually PREFER extreme aft rooms on any of the DCL ships, including the fantasy. Our favorite is 9174 (Cat 5E) on the Dream/Fantasy

 

[lanejudy]

If your DH is looking for "relaxed" -- I don't think cruise-then-parks is the right way to go. Either do just the cruise, or do the parks first. Also, plan for just 1 or 2 parks rather than trying to cram all 4 into a shortened time period. That can help with the feeling of jam-packed-not-restful.

Definitely fly in at least the night before. Another point for doing parks first, as that's easier to adjust for travel delays. If you fly in the night before and stay at the MCO Hyatt, or another airport area hotel, it's quite easy to take DCL transfers in the morning for a cruise. If you go to WDW first, you'll need to decide on transportation options; you can do DCL transfers from WDW but they arrive at the port early afternoon instead of mid-morning.

You are off the ship at the end of the cruise fairly early -- DCL wants everyone off by 9:00am. So you can have most of a day/evening at a park on debarkation day after the cruise. I would not plan a park morning on embarkation day, though. Too rushed unless you are driving yourselves and don't mind arriving at the port in the afternoon.

I wouldn't worry about the kids and sea-sickness unless they've had issues in the past with motion-sickness (car, amusement park rides, etc.). Bring some Bonine or such to have on hand if needed.

The sooner you book the better chance at getting "main" (earlier) dining. But even late dining may not be a deal-breaker. Just plan your days. Adult dining requires a reservation, but there is usually plenty available and they hold some slots for booking onboard.

If DH wants "relaxed" then I wouldn't overschedule port excursions. If doing a full 7-week cruise, maybe 1 or 2 days with port excursions; if you go for a short cruise (3 or 4 nights), enjoy the ship (and Castaway Cay) without a Nassau excursion. Unless there was something you have your heart set on doing.

The only meet & greets to schedule are the princess gathering and Frozen. One or both may be "sold out" before new cruisers can sign-up, but more sessions may be offered. Or sometimes people cancel. Or I have heard they may hold a few slots for sign-up once you board.

I wouldn't plan on Rapunzel. She may or may not be on your cruise. Any particular character may not be available for one reason or another. Pretty much you can count on Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Pluto and Goofy. Usually at least 3 princesses, which ones may vary. Elsa and/or Anna, occasionally Olaf. I don't pay much attention to the pirates, I think Hook and Smee are fairly regular but not sure.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

It's easier to count on furs than on face characters. The friends who take ship often play many of the furs. (Heck, so do the face characters - play fur, I mean. It's rarer for a face characters to transition across multiple face options, due to some of the nature of face vs. fur. I mean, your Tuesday Tiana isn't going to be your Wednesday Anna.)

 

[Shanti]

Cool thanks! I'm not so much hung up on the OMG perfect time just would like to be able to experience it. Is a cabana that amazing on CC? Just curious do you know if Rapunzel is on all the cruise ships?

Fyi, Rapunzel is a focus character on the Magic, as the main show is Tangled, and in March a new MDR is coming out that will feature appearances by Rapunzel and Flynn.

 

[Shanti]

Thank you so much! This was all awesome info! Any thoughts on what deck for the Fantasy? We don't mind having to walk a bit for a quieter room. My plan is whatever we decide to book as soon as Disney releases the August 2019 sail dates which I expect to be soon.

For quiet, I would avoid most of deck 10, which is under the pool deck & the Cabanas buffet. I would also avoid deck 5 forward, which is over the theatre.

We were on deck 8 forward on the Fantasy and had no noise issues. You can check individual stateroom reviews to see others' reports of their experiences with noise, vibration or other issues:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/cruise-new/roomlist.cfm