Just booked first Disney Cruise

[bostonlass]

I'm very excited and so very grateful for all of the informative tips on this and other sites. I booked a four day cruise only on the Disney Wonder for April 18, 2004. I booked through Expedia and I guess Disney is handling my flights and will send me the information on them in the future. I like this as opposed to booking it myself since I have a very hard time making a decision on a flight.

Anyway I am a single mom with two daughters, ages 7 and 8. I have a few questions and hope that you fine people can help me to see the light.

1) Has anyone had Disney handle their flights for the cruise only deal and if so were they pretty reasonable in terms of nonstop/1stop or was it a complete nightmare with tons of transfers and leaving at 5am?

2) I've read over and over how important it is to book those times at the spa and at Palo's BUT.......how do I know that my kids will be all set as far as what they're doing before we've even got situated? I mean the reservations are shortly after boarding it seems and since my kids don't really know the clubs or the babysitters should I even bother to book a massage or a dinner when they might not want to be away from me for an hour or two during dinner? I mean I'm sure they'll have fun away from me a LOT 'cause that's what they do but kids are very unpredictable and I'm afraid that I'll be left without a reservation for anything if I do Palos. (I really crave one meal alone though so I hope you all can help me through this lil dilemma)

3) Do people sit with you to plan out your itineraries or do you have to just "wing it" hoping you like what you pick out?

4) I hear about people bringing their own bottles of wine here and there...are you really allowed to bring food and beverages (including wine and such) on the boat with you? If so that's cool since it will definitely save some buckarooos. Speaking of that...how much for a beer?

Thanks so much and I am already so very excited for this trip! This is BIG for me since I've been petrified to fly even before 9/11 so if I can conquer this the possibilities are ENDLESS

 

[makaylee]

bostonlass, I've only cruised once so far but, I will answer your questions as best as possible. As far as Disney air goes, have you considered doing your own? I have heard it is normally quite a bit cheaper. It is really simple, just make sure your flight arrives in orlando ATLEAST a few hours before the ship starts boarding (around 12:30) It is really convienient to fly in the night before and stay at a local hotel. We really enjoyed staying at the Hyatt right in the airport. It was really convienient. If you pay for the Disney transfers they pick you right up there at the hotel and bring you to the ship. If you fly in the night before you don't have to worry about flight delays either. Definatly book Palos right when you get on the ship. Ressies are really hard to get and if you dont think your kids are going to let you pull it off all you have to do is call guest services and cancel them. You night be able to go to guest services and have them help you plan your itenerary but, it is really simple to do it on your own. Every night when you come back from dinner there is a new navigator on your bed that tells you of all the activities for the next day. I would suggest you bring a highlighter and highlight the things that sound interesting to you. Yes you are allowed to bring your own beverages on boared (I belive i've heard Disney is one of the few if not only cruise line that lets you do this). If you bring wine to dinner there will be a corking fee though. Don't quote me but, I think it might be something like $15. Domestic beers are about $4 each. If you pay $10 for a beer mug when you get on the ship you can get 20oz beers for the price of 16oz. My husband did this and really like it because the mug also made a nice souvineer (did i spell that right). I also have a tremendous fear of flying. What got me thru it was closing my eyes and picturing myself on castaway cay sipping a bahama momma. I hope i've helped some. I'm sure if I messed up on some of my facts someone will correct me. The people on this board are great! Have a wonderful cruise!

 

[Luckymommyx2]

Welcome to the boards bostonlass! Everything makaylee said sounded right to me. Are you sure Expedia was the cheapest price you could find?! Also, booking airfare is almost always cheaper if you book it seperately. DCL will get you there and hold the ship until you arrive BUT they can have you leaving at almost any time plus there is no guarantee that you will have a non-stop flight, either leg of your trip.

We always fly SWA the day before, get the room at the Hyatt and hire a towncar or limo to transfer us to and from the port.

Good luck in planning the rest of your cruise. You'll have a lot of great advice and ideas listening to people on the boards.

 

[rae519]

Welcome to both the boards and to your first cruise! Our first cruise was on the Wonder and we loved sailing so much we ended up going to the Magic for many, many more! It's just the most relaxing way to travel!

Bring your own alcohol, if possible. On the ship the drink prices are outrageous - even soda is expensive. There is a 24/7 bar that has coffee, teas, lemonade, hot chocolate, milk, ice tea, water and ice available.

The kids seem to love the clubs pretty much from the start and it's generally hard to get them out of there once they get inside! Lots of fun and other children to play with. Very well supervised with caring and fun counselors. The counselors are very good at keeping the children busy and I've heard tell that if parents say that they are going to Palo, the counselors will make a special point of making sure the child(ren) are encouraged to stay and play rather than "beep" mom and/or dad!

There seems to be a lot of preplanning done, but enjoy the time you have both with and without your children - cruising is relaxing, remember that!!!!

Rae

 

[bostonlass]

Thanks guys! I'm pretty sure that expedia was the cheapest. I had checked out just about every other site. As for the airfare I've looked for days for aifare from Bos - Orlando and it's not that cheap now since most of the cheap seats are booked. Anyway after the price of the cruise itself the airfare ended up being about $200 per person roundtrip which is much cheaper than I found elsewhere. This was a hard cruise to find since it's basically booked up save some spots that are blocked by different discount sites.

Good thing is (from what I've read) that I got a cat 11 room but don't know what room it is. ( i forget what that's called but the woman on the phone said I'm prolly gonna get upgraded). Bad thing about expedia was when I told the woman that my 7 yr old is allergic to peanut butter her response was, "well don't feed her peanut butter". Duh. I mean I guess if I were going to be with her 24/7 I wouldn't worry but since they'll be at the kids' club at times I thought it was an important tad of info.

I read somewhere (lord knows where since I've been on a million sites) that somehow the spa times can be booked via the internet. Anyone know if that's true for people who didn't book directly through Disney?

I guess I can cancel within 60 days so if I find a cheaper flight I"ll try to do that. This flight through disney though comes with a free transfer to and from Cape Canaveral so I didn't have to pay for that at all.

I"m so excited! I looked through the kids' Navigators from castaway site and I can't imagine how the kids would EVER stay up that late. I mean they have activities starting at 9ish?? My kids barely make it that late on New Year's but I guess this is a whole new world.

ciao!

 

[LAMPSKIES]

Bostonlass........we will be going on our 4th DCL cruise Dec 04, our DDs (now 13 and 11). We always book thru DCL direct.....I like it better because it give me more options. Dcl can talk to you and not have to go thru your TA. I always book thru ATA out of midway (Chicago) I have NEVER booked sooner that 30 days out and usually get around 170.00 per round trip. The only advantage to booking thru DCL is........1) If you take their travel insurance the flight is covered and 2)if you flight is delayed to the point to where you can't make the ship on time....the will hold the sailing for an hour or so.
Three sailings and believe it or no DDs have never been to the clubs. On our first sailing they were 9 and 7. Dw is a "stay at home mom" and we are use to out kids being with us. As far as Palo.....we haven't done that either. With our busy schedules those sailing are the only time I can remember sitting down and having dinner together as a family 7 nights in a row. DW has done the spa and never has a problem getting a reservation......unless you book a package (romantic escape etc...) you still can't book online.
You can bring your own bottle of wine and there IS a 15.00 corking fee. They will keep it chilled for future dinners. No charge.
I usually bring a few of my favorite flavors (lite beer) in my carryon. (A small suitcase with wheels.) Then as I enpty it DDs fill it with souvineers.

 

[rae519]

Originally posted by LAMPSKIES
Bostonlass........we will be going on our 4th DCL cruise Dec 04, our DDs (now 13 and 11). We always book thru DCL direct.....I like it better because it give me more options.

Hey "Lampie" - I do the same thing!!! But I later turn it over to Bill at cruisetraveloutlet.com and get a 7% rebate back off the price of the cruise (not taxes, port fees). That has always worked well for us and Bill is a great guy to work with. The TA's get 10% so for him to give me 7%, it's a good deal!
(Still too cold to go riding, but looking forward to just going up and seeing the boys.)

Rae