ILLUMINATIONS CRUISES-What they are--How to book--FIND ONE TO SHARE

[coastgirl]

Just an FYI, we are cancelling our Illuminations cruise for Feb 1. (We're doing the Astronaut Training Experience at Kennedy that day instead!) I won't get a chance to cancel until Monday Dec 11, so if anyone wants to try to coordinate that, pm me. I'll check Monday am before I call Disney.

 

[mike230652]

We just did the Wishes Premium Cruise and it was well worth the $300. I have never had such a great view of the fire works! You can even see tink as she flies down from the castle. The memories of doing this with my family far out weigh the cost. I will always remember my DD11 sitting on my lap with her arm around me as we shard this wonderful night.

Disney_Mama


I'd agree....the memories are magical especially first time round.

We've been lucky enough to do the Illuminations Cruise twice and don't regret it at all.

Now the kids are older ( 14 and 15 when we arrive ) it's maybe not so vital, hence the cost plays a greater part in the decision.
Plus......I can't somehow imagine my 6' 1" 14 year old son sitting on my knee and hugging me.......while wearing his Misfits shirt and torn jeans.....


It'll be pretty much IOA and Universal this time round...with MGM thrown in since that's what our two want........ but I have to admit we'll miss the magic of Disney and the Magic Kingdom in particular.............

Thanks for the info re:the leasing of the pontoons. Crazy Hakim......I'm happy to learn something new every day......


Mike

 

[scorp111]

We did the WIshes Cruise in September. We were supposed to be splitting it 3 ways, one couple had to cancel, so we paid 2/3 of the total, and still thought it was worth it!!


Probably not every trip, but it was really neat.

Would love to do the Illuminations cruise sometime

 

[Newcastle]

I apologize if this has already been posted but I didn't have time to read through the pages and pages of responses on this thread! I was trying to decide whether to pay the extra money for the Wishes cruise that has the audio feed from the show. I spoke with one of the reservation people at Disney and she said that even if you don't request a boat with the audio feed, the boats are generally grouped together in the same location and thus it is possible that you might be able to hear the music from one of the other boats. Does anyone know anything about this?

Thanks!!

 

[MINNIE OF TWO MICE]

We were fortunate enough to have met someone on these threads to go with.
We had an unbeleivable time. We had to pay the new price and would do it again in a heartbeat. Even if we had to pay the whole thing. We also got an excellent view of the shuttle liftoff as it just so was happening on our 12-9 cruise. It was our last night at the parks before our 4 night disney cruise(another "must do" on our list) and it was the perfect ending to our land portion. If you have the extra cash and can land the opportunity please give it a try. My children are still in awe and so am I!!!!! I would like to thank Inkmahm again for including us!!!!!

 

[Newcastle]

I had another quick question about the cruises. I would like to book the cruise for my daughter's birthday however the actual date is close to the end of our trip. I'm concerned that if I wait to book that specific day and there is no availability then I won't have any luck booking an earlier cruise either. Is it possible to book a cruise and then call a few days later to get the date that I actually want, and then cancel the first reservation? Thanks for any input!

 

[Crazy Hakim]

I had another quick question about the cruises. I would like to book the cruise for my daughter's birthday however the actual date is close to the end of our trip. I'm concerned that if I wait to book that specific day and there is no availability then I won't have any luck booking an earlier cruise either. Is it possible to book a cruise and then call a few days later to get the date that I actually want, and then cancel the first reservation? Thanks for any input!

Absolutely! I would play it safe and try to book each day, if you secure an early date, then wait and try to book another on the actual birthday. If you get it, just cancel the first, if you don't well then you still have a cruise during your visit.

 

[Newcastle]

Thanks Mike for your response. I will definitely try to book something early on during the week that we will be vacationing. It won't be the end of the world if we don't get to cruise on her actual birth date!

Since you are so knowledgeable about this subject, could you please take a stab at my earlier post quoted below? I would really appreciate it!

I apologize if this has already been posted but I didn't have time to read through the pages and pages of responses on this thread! I was trying to decide whether to pay the extra money for the Wishes cruise that has the audio feed from the show. I spoke with one of the reservation people at Disney and she said that even if you don't request a boat with the audio feed, the boats are generally grouped together in the same location and thus it is possible that you might be able to hear the music from one of the other boats. Does anyone know anything about this?

Thanks!!

 

[Crazy Hakim]

I apologize if this has already been posted but I didn't have time to read through the pages and pages of responses on this thread! I was trying to decide whether to pay the extra money for the Wishes cruise that has the audio feed from the show. I spoke with one of the reservation people at Disney and she said that even if you don't request a boat with the audio feed, the boats are generally grouped together in the same location and thus it is possible that you might be able to hear the music from one of the other boats. Does anyone know anything about this?
Thanks!!

OK, in my humble opinion, I would pay the extra for the audio feed.
Why?
Well, if I paid for it, I am assured that I will hear the entire show, regardless of what other boats "may" be parked near me. The audio does add to the show, and without it, you may hear bits & pieces of it, but no guarantee.

 

[Newcastle]

Thanks again Mike! I was sort of leaning that way (i.e. paying the extra for the audio feed). I don't think that the fireworks would be the same without the music and it would be disappointing if we weren't able to hear any of the music or only garbled bits and pieces of it. I guess I'll just have to splurge and spend the extra cash!!

 

[4kidsandadog]

We did a MK midnight fireworks cruise on the 30th of Dec... they were showing the NYE fireworks that night as well. We paid the extra for the radio feed and it was worth it. Our boat driver said he is known as the "mean" guy because he won't let other people mooch off of his radio; he will move away to keep the others from listening in.

At any rate, the whole thing was worth it. I will never want to watch fireworks from the park again. It was the best view and the easiest exit. I hope we will get a chance to experience it with friends again.

 

[ansky922]

Hi All

I am interested in Illuminations Cruise for either April 1st 2nd or 3rd
Family of 3.

Please PM me with any info Thanks

 

[Grundgetta]

Thanks so much for the reply. That is what I had in my head, but thought I better confer with the experts!

Oh wow, I had no idea tipping the captain was customary! I have the Birthday Illuminations cruise booked, so a $60 tip would be appropriate? Making the cruise almost $400...

This is a surprise for my mom's 50th birthday & none of us have been on the Wishes or Illuminations cruise before. Do you all honestly think the final price is justified? She's worth it, but it is a splurge & I want to make sure it's really worth the cost. Thanks!!

 

[MINNIE OF TWO MICE]

Oh wow, I had no idea tipping the captain was customary! I have the Birthday Illuminations cruise booked, so a $60 tip would be appropriate? Making the cruise almost $400...

This is a surprise for my mom's 50th birthday & none of us have been on the Wishes or Illuminations cruise before. Do you all honestly think the final price is justified? She's worth it, but it is a splurge & I want to make sure it's really worth the cost. Thanks!!

Absolutely!!!! We went on 12-9 Illuminations Cruise and my children are still talking about it. We loved it and will try to get another one the next time we go. I dont feel like there iis any other way now. We are officially spoiled now and if we cant get one the next trip, we will be very disappointed. Have a great time with your Mom. Its truly a magical experience.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

For my last trip I started calling at 6:55 a.m. 90 days out starting at the first day of our trip until the last day we were going to be in WDW but, alas, never got an Illuminations boat. I then checked once a week for cancellations but there were none. I then called every day while we were at WDW to check for cancellations and there were none. But, you know what? Everytime I called (from the first to the last phone call) there was a Wishes cruise available on at least one of the days I was at WDW. Maybe WDW should widen the water area through International Gateway so some of the Wishes boats could be put to use at Illuminations

Just wanted to put the info out there that if you have your heart set on an Illuminations cruise and don't get one you may be able to get a Wishes cruise even after the 90 days!

 

[Crazy Hakim]

*snip* I then called every day while we were at WDW to check for cancellations and there were none. *snip*

I hope you were calling Bayside Marina direct and NOT CRO while you were on property! A lot of times there are cancellations that are made directly to the marina and never get put back into the CRO system, so calling 407-WDW-PLAY may not get you the most accurate, short notice info! Instead, call 407-934-3823 between 10am and 5pm, and again between 7pm and 8:15pm if you really want to get an IllumiNations Cruise!

 

[kimmie]

I did a "trial run" today. Keeping my fingers crossed for later this week.
Has there always been the survey thing? I don't remember it from the last time we booked a cruise. Is there a way of getting around it? (It seemed quite long.) Don't want to waste precious time! LOL

 

[Grundgetta]

Absolutely!!!! We went on 12-9 Illuminations Cruise and my children are still talking about it. We loved it and will try to get another one the next time we go. I dont feel like there iis any other way now. We are officially spoiled now and if we cant get one the next trip, we will be very disappointed. Have a great time with your Mom. Its truly a magical experience.

Thanks so much for the response! After taking the time to read through the thread, I see how hard it is to book an Illuminations cruise. I guess I was extremely lucky...I read about the cruise on another website offering ideas on celebrating birthdays at Disney, decided to call & book one & got the date I wanted with no problem (even though it was less than 90 days before my requested date.) I'll take that as a sign it's something we're supposed to do!

A few more questions.... We're having dinner at the Poly beforehand & I'm trying to figure out the best way to get to the marina from there. Should we go from the Poly to MK & then catch a bus to the Y&B club? We're staying at Coronado Springs, so I guess to get home that night after the cruise we should catch a bus to DD & then back to the hotel? And one last question (sorry)..my 2 year old daughter will be along & is a bit frightened by loud noises...is it very loud from the viewing point? Thanks!

 

[MINNIE OF TWO MICE]

We had a 10,11 and a one year old with us. They warned us that it would be loud but it wasnt loud enough to do damage to their ears or ours for that matter. The baby that was with us was fine. He loved it and was in awe. He would clap if there was a break in the fireworks. After four days at Disney, he knew his que to clap!

We were staying at the poly. We were at epcot before we went so getting there was a breeze. Afterwards we went back to epcot, to the transportation ticket center and on to our resort. I would ask someone at the customer service and allow plenty of transportation time. The yacht and beach club is a cool resort to check out. That was our first time to see it and the pool was awesome. We arrived about thirty minutes early and enjoyed checking the place out. I hoped I helped you. If you need anything else, I will try to answer.

 

[MINNIE OF TWO MICE]

Your are under the bridge that carrys you to the international gateway. You are a good distance from the fireworks. I dont remember when you said your were going but maybe you could carry some ear muffs or ear plugs to muffle the sound. We went at Christmas time and it was a bit chilly so we had him bundled up. I just got worried after posting about the noise and dont want you to be disappointed if it frightens her. I would carry something to put in her ears just in case.