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

[jensenba]

My friend and I are looking to share an Illuminations cruise on either Sept 15th or 16th if anyone has extra room.

 

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

My family of five will be in WDW Sept. 14-19 and are possibly interested in an Illuminations or Wishes Cruise. Anyone else? Any recommendations between the two? Do you have to be in the park to board the cruise...we only have MYW..no hopper. thanks.

 

[Abby's Dad]

Looks like you will be our replacements at the world - you arrive the day we leave! I think that both Illuminations and Wishes leave from marinas at the resorts, so no park admission gets used, I know that is the case for Wishes, as we will be taking that from the Grand Floridian marina the week before you get there. I think either cruise would be a lot of fun, but chose Wishes because the view of the MK and the like is supposed to be incredible.

 

[Hodder]

Looks like you will be our replacements at the world - you arrive the day we leave! I think that both Illuminations and Wishes leave from marinas at the resorts, so no park admission gets used, I know that is the case for Wishes, as we will be taking that from the Grand Floridian marina the week before you get there. I think either cruise would be a lot of fun, but chose Wishes because the view of the MK and the like is supposed to be incredible.

We booked Wishes for Sept 10th was trying to get Illumination but it was booked CM said the view was beautiful and I booked with Audio. CM said that the boat tries to pull up close to one with Audio but that may not be able to happen you we might not hear it. We will be leaving from the Poly.

 

[Andrea from PA]

Yes -- it is early, but hey, I made ADRs today & I'm in a planning mood.

Hoping for an Illuminations cruise for Sunday December 16th or Tuesday December 18th.

Family of 5 -- 2 adults, 2 boys (ages 12 & 8) and 1 girl age 6.

PM if anyone is interested

 

[MAGICX2]

My family of five will be in WDW Sept. 14-19 and are possibly interested in an Illuminations or Wishes Cruise. Anyone else? Any recommendations between the two? Do you have to be in the park to board the cruise...we only have MYW..no hopper. thanks.

What are your childrens ages?

 

[The Disney Dude]

Does anyone know how long the cruise (that takes 10-12 people) lasts? I know it starts at 8pm, but was wondering what time we could expect to be back at the dock? Thanks, in advance

 

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

My boys are 4.5 years old...triplets...I'm having a hard time deciding between the Wishes and Illuminations cruise? hmmm...

 

[GGOOFY1]

Does anyone know how long the cruise (that takes 10-12 people) lasts? I know it starts at 8pm, but was wondering what time we could expect to be back at the dock? Thanks, in advance

We are doing the Illuminations cruise on the 25th and we were told to check in at 8pm, the boat will leave the dock at 8:30pm and return in one hour....They also said there is a max of 10 people (no matter what age) We have a pontoon boat. Hope that helps

 

[Ladybugsy]

I didn't get the illuminations cruise for my dd's birthday... ...RATS!!!!

 

[snowdrift7]

My boys are 4.5 years old...triplets...I'm having a hard time deciding between the Wishes and Illuminations cruise? hmmm...

What I hear, the Illuminations cruise can get really smoky (because you're so much closer to the fireworks). I'll be able to tell you for sure after my cruise on Sept 9th.

 

[alanburger88]

I didn't get the illuminations cruise for my dd's birthday... ...RATS!!!!

Sorry to hear you did not get your reservation.

Dont give up. It is possible that a cancellation will come in and I also believe that 5 days before a date, they release any non booked boats that were reserved for Platinum Plan guests....

Just try again every now and then - you may still be lucky!

We are hoping to book a cruise for 7 December 2007. Wish us luck

 

[Flametamr]

Can a Mod please update this thread or start a new one. The OP obviously has gone missing. April and May are still listed and I have asked several times that August be added to no avail. I want to share a cruise late in August.

 

[Abby's Dad]

Not a moderator, but this is an ongoing post - just jump in with your dates that you are looking for a cruise for, or have one to share. Barring that - just start your own thread for August cruises. So far, it seems that people are getting some pretty good responses for September cruises, bet that you will be able to get your August also.

 

[schaery]

Hi! DH and I will be there that week. Had planned on doing either illuminations or wishes on Friday 12/15.

 

[schaery]

Opinions please, on which cruise is better - Illuminations or Wishes. And which level is best for the money.

 

[Abby's Dad]

Have never done either, but in looking at the pictures that are available (new ones up for Wishes under photos) and from what I have read in reviews, the view of the MK and the fireworks is very unique from the cruise, and I am not that sure that it is significantly better Illuminations from the boat (and if the wind is wrong, it can get pretty smoky). Also, as the music seems to be such a large part of the experience (and I really thought that Jiminy Cricket had to be real when I was child - a couple of centuries ago ), we are going with the premium to make sure that we have the sound. Again, I have done neither, just trying to figure it out as well as I can, but that is my reasoning. Either way, I'm sure that you will have a wonderful time (Hey, it's WDW!), but I'll know for sure in September, and will report back then. As usual, YMMV.

 

[Abby's Dad]

Oh, and another thing - there are good directions at the beginning of this thread on calling for reservations, and from what I understand, the Illuminations are the tougher ressie to get, as they have fewer boats designated for this. I called at 0700 at the 90 day mark and got my ressie for Wishes.

And forgot another reason for choosing the Wishes cruise - you get a close up view of the Electrical Water Pageant.

 

[schaery]

Wow! After looking at the pics, I'm thinking that the MK cruise will be the one I'd like to do. This is our 10th Anniv trip so I want to do something extra special. Dinner on the cruise would be wonderful but probably quite expensive. I'll have to mark the 90 days on my calendar so I'll remember to call. It seems like forever until that time. Of course, I've been planning this trip since before Christmas of 2006. Please be sure to let me know how your cruise turns out.

 

[Andrea from PA]

I didn't know with the Wishes cruise you could see the Electrical Parade!

I am hoping ofr a December Illuminations cruise, but the Electrical Parade & Wishes combo looks good too...Hmmm so many Magical Things to Do, now if my credit card & bank account just magically could accomadate all of it I wouldn't need to make difficult choices...