How crowded is the send-off party and pirate night? Worth it?

[Dizduke]

I've heard the send-off and pirate night deck parties are very crowded is it true? Is it worth seeing for the first time? Any suggestions of where to watch thats not too crowded even if view isn't great?

 

[Dug720]

You can always watch rom Deck 12 - you can see the show without being in the mosh pit.

I'm heading for my 4th cruise and I still like seeing them.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I've heard the send-off and pirate night deck parties are very crowded is it true? Is it worth seeing for the first time? Any suggestions of where to watch thats not too crowded even if view isn't great?

Pirate night on the Fantasy


Sailaway


I second the recommendation to be on deck 12.

 

[Dug720]

Pirate night on the Fantasy
View attachment 90163

Sailaway
View attachment 90164

I second the recommendation to be on deck 12.

The picture of Pirate Night is the reason for my "mosh pit" comment.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

The picture of Pirate Night is the reason for my "mosh pit" comment.

I know, that's why I posted it. It's not really a very good picture, but you get the idea.

 

[Husurdady]

[QUOTE="Dug720, post: 53503938, .

I'm heading for my 4th cruise and I still like seeing them.[/QUOTE]

Hi Beth,
Dw and The Hoosier Daddy do also. We are headed for our 13 cruise May 3rd......Sure love that "mosh pit"

 

[bobbiwoz]

We avoid the parties, but we do find a place to view the fireworks!

 

[lucas]

For us, those are the 2 highlights of the cruise. Would never miss them.

 

[DISGRL13]

We love the Sail Away Party and Pirate Party as well. We have been on 7 Disney cruises and still enjoy them both. The music and dancing gets everyone excited and happy! We always watch by the left corner of the stage as you look at the stage. You can usually see everything and if not the big screen helps you see what is going on.

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

I think it depends on your sailing. We went the first weekend in November in 2012, and they were both crowded but manageable.

 

[PhillyCruiser]

Just off Dream. Never made it to Sail Away but we got to Pirate Night (deck 11) early enough to get seats for the 4 of us to enjoy the show on Jumbo Screen & fireworks. It was crowded but we weren't uncomfortable. My kids LOVED the dance party that followed!

 

[E ticket rider]

I've heard the send-off and pirate night deck parties are very crowded is it true? Is it worth seeing for the first time? Any suggestions of where to watch thats not too crowded even if view isn't great?

Both draw crowds. Deck 11 is more crowded than deck 12 for sailaway. We usually hang out on deck 12 on the starboard outside rail and watch the stage show on FunnelVision. Deck 12 at sailaway isn't bad at all, deck 11 is much busier, but no where near as busy as pirate night. Mosh pit may be a bit of an overstatement, but it's a tight squeeze on deck 11 on pirate night. Deck 12 is much more crowded too, but areas of the deck are closed off as safety zones, so there's less space to spread out for the fireworks. Starboard side is definitely more crowded as they shoot the fireworks off that side.

 

[dittymau]

I'll be on deck 12, thank you!!! I thought I saw mention a while back there is an "adults only" area on deck 12 for the fireworks??? We will do palo dinner that night (wife is not a fan of pirates menu) so we will change the go to 12 for the fireworks, party is more for the kids...

 

[rhinodadz]

They should probably be experienced at least once (particularly if you have kids). For us, we prefer to hang out on deck 12 at the bow for sailaway and deck 12 forward (starboard side) for fireworks.

 

[tup1830]

Agreed both are pretty popular and although deck 12 is less crowded, getting onto an elevator to those parties is not fun.

The areas outside of the family pool section aren't super packed, so if you want to avoid it, its also a good time to swim the adult pool, etc.

 

[Justacruiser]

It's during the deck party that they leave the port (most of the time). It's nice to see us off from the top deck! We use deck 12 on the new ships or deck 10 on the old ships. For Pirate Night we use the same deck, for the fireworks we stand stage left on the upper deck. You can see the large screen from the side and still see up to get the fireworks. To leave both we take the midship stairs down to the room.

 

[iambrink]

I've heard the send-off and pirate night deck parties are very crowded is it true? Is it worth seeing for the first time? Any suggestions of where to watch thats not too crowded even if view isn't great?

If it is your first cruise, I would recommend not missing either; then you can decide for future cruises! We prefer Deck 12 also. We always have the kids sit down by the railing and we lean over them. If you are someone that wants to be right in the action, Deck 11 is for you. Everything is also on the big screen, so on Deck 11 there may be viewing issues, but everyone can see the big screen.

 

[Kenny1113]

I think it depends on your sailing. We went the first weekend in November in 2012, and they were both crowded but manageable.

I agree with this. Our March '14 cruise the parties were not that crowded , I was actually shocked. This cruise seemed to have a lot of castaway club members-not sure if that made a difference.
This year the parties were much more crowded. As PP have mentioned, We also enjoy watching from the upper deck.

 

[JLMDisneyCruise]

My room is on deck 12, can I see what's going on from my veranda?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

My room is on deck 12, can I see what's going on from my veranda?

No.