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

[Sexy Rexy]

I talked to Aryn at the Bayside marina today and he told me everything there is to know about the specialty cruises. They are 275 dollars total. Check in is between 8:00pm-8:15pm and the depart between 8:15pm-8:30pm. The fire works are at 9:00pm except from November 23-December 30th they are at 9:30 pm. To book a specialty cruise call 407-WDW-PLAY. If you are on property and want a cruise you can always call the Bayside Marina at 407-934-1970 that is there direct line, no phone tree. Any one 12 and under has to wear a life jacket and only 10 guest can be on the pontoons. Aryn was very knowledgeable about the cruises and was very enthusiastic about his job. I think he would be great to have as a host on the specialty cruises

 

[valenrandy]

I will be at The World from th 24th through the 28th of jan.......This would be for 1 adult. if anyone has the space let me know! greatly apreciated!

 

[sunny04]

If anyone has an Illuminations cruise for March 17 or 21 to share, we have 2 people.

 

[Gabby&Liv's Mommy]

I think I made it through most of the thread, but sometimes I wasn’t we were talking about Wishes or Illuminations, so I apologize for the repeat questions.
Does the Illuminations cruise leave from the Boardwalk marina?
Where does Wishes leave from?
What type of food can be ordered for the cruise? Will it be on the boat or does it need to be picked up at the resort on the way to the boat?
We are considering a Illuminations or Wishes cruise in early December. Do they have blankets on the boat?
If it gets too cold or if it rains, do the cancel? If the weather is bad (raining) and you cancel do you still need to pay? I would hate to spend $400 to be rained on. =)
What time does the cruise return to the docks?

Thanks!

 

[4kidsandadog]

We took a Wishes cruise this past Dec. 30, the one with the audio feed... it left from the Contemporary Marina. And yes, there were blankets on board.

 

[Gabby&Liv's Mommy]

We took a Wishes cruise this past Dec. 30, the one with the audio feed... it left from the Contemporary Marina. And yes, there were blankets on board.

Thanks. Where do you park for Wishes?

 

[ansky922]

If anyone is doing an Illuminations cruise on April 1,2,3 or 7th I have a family of 3. Have never tried this before would love for DS to experience it.

Please PM me

 

[KristineN]

We did both cruises this past December...

We caught the Illuminations cruise from the Yacht/Beach Club Marina

We took our Wishes Cruise from the Polynesian...you can pick up this cruise from: Contemporary, Polynesian, Grand Floridian, Wilderness Lodge or Fort Wilderness.

Regarding food...you can order anything off the private dining menu from the resort that you are getting picked up from. I had them email a menu to me.

The Wishes Cruise had blankets, the Illumination one did not. Not sure why. It was extremely cold at night on the water...so plan accordingly.

They typically don't cancel unless it is lightning. Which happened to us the year before. I have been out in rain...again, plan accordingly.

We were back to the dock 20 minutes or so after the fireworks ended.

We love it...and will be booking again for Dec. 07.

I think I made it through most of the thread, but sometimes I wasn’t we were talking about Wishes or Illuminations, so I apologize for the repeat questions.
Does the Illuminations cruise leave from the Boardwalk marina?
Where does Wishes leave from?
What type of food can be ordered for the cruise? Will it be on the boat or does it need to be picked up at the resort on the way to the boat?
We are considering a Illuminations or Wishes cruise in early December. Do they have blankets on the boat?
If it gets too cold or if it rains, do the cancel? If the weather is bad (raining) and you cancel do you still need to pay? I would hate to spend $400 to be rained on. =)
What time does the cruise return to the docks?

Thanks!

 

[kpunarc]

I'm loving this site!!! So much info!

Andrew
location: Birmingham
MY SITE: http://www.myspace.com/kpunarc

 

[MINNIE OF TWO MICE]

We went on an Illuminations Cruise December 9, 2006 and it had blankets. We left from the Yacht club. I would ask if its cold before you left the dock. Our blankets were in a storage space on the boat. It was wonderful.

 

[Brian Noble]

I just canceled two Illuminations cruises I had booked. One was Monday, 2/26. The other was Friday, 3/2. If you call ASAP, you should be able to get them.

 

[Quinn123me]

Anyone have room on March 3rd?? for a party of 4.

 

[The Sweetness]

I am sorry if these things have been answered 100 times, but this thread is 77 pgs long, and I will keep up with it now, but I cant see reading ALL of that (being lazy)
When reserving a cruise (90 days out) do you make a deposit then?
Also, for those sharing a cruise, typically, how are payment arrangements made, and what is the going rate to share (usually) per person, I guess? (ive never done one of these before, but it may be just the right touch to make my best friends birthday truly spectacular, along with dinner at 'Ohana (where Wishes cruises leave from)

Thanks for answering these questions for me (for the umpteenth time, no doubt

 

[vsimeone]

We did a Wishes Cruise on 12/23/06 and Illuminations on 12/30/06. Wishes was a warm evening but Illuminations was a little cool and we did have blankets. We left for our Wishes Cruise from the Contemporary and I ordered a bottle of wine from the Contemporary Private Dining. We had a fabulous time both nights and eventhough it is rather expensive, I would do a cruise again in a heartbeat if I could afford to splurge a bit.

Have a wonderful time!!!

 

[not-too-old4fun]

I just called to try to book an Illuminations cruise between April 18 - 24. So far they are all booked up till April 21 (which is how far ahead I was allowed to book.) I'm going to keep trying to book one. I was hoping for April 24. There are 5 of us. I'm not sure exactly how many can fit but if I succeed, I'll reply to this post if anyone would care to join us. Or.... if anyone else succeeds before me and has room for 5, please let me know. We're 3 adults and 2 children (my boys are well behaved. I know we all say that but they really are. )

I'm going to cross my fingers that we get to experience this.

 

[not-too-old4fun]

I did it! I think you need perseverance to book this. I was primed and ready to call at 6:58am I think that posting on here and sharing the cruise with others if you have the room is one of the best ideas! I'm glad I stumbled across this thread.

 

[MINNIE OF TWO MICE]

Congratulations!!!!! You are going to have a great time!!!!

 

[sunny04]

I'm still looking for a cruise for 2, but my dates are opening up. We could do 17, 18, 20, 21, or 22!

 

[dizzi]

I have done the illuminations cruise, and i was not very impressed, for the money. Although, still glad to have done it, because i like to leave no stone unturned when it comes to WDW,... We did share the boat with several other people, and we did have hot chocolate, thank goodness, it happened to be a cold spell when we went,but we froze and we were under blankets, and under a bridge, and you couldnt see very well, and there was lot of smoke. I think it would have been much better had i just not wanted to get back to some warmth. But i donot think i would do it again.

 

[not-too-old4fun]

Minnie ~ Thank you! I'm really looking forward to it!

sunny04 ~ Good luck! I hope you are able to book it. What month are you talking about? I know they were booked solid till the 22nd of april when I tried.

dizzi ~ yikes.... that's no fun. I sure hope our cruise turns out ok. I read tond of reviews prior to booking it and I did read a couple that had this smoke issue but the positives really outweighed the negatives so I'm going to cross my fingers and hope for the best. Sorry you didn't get to enjoy your cruise.