Need help deciding what to do

[sparkysfriends]

Hi-
I'm new to this forum. I have a few questions. We are trying to decide whether or not to take a Disney cruise next fall. We've never taken a Disney Cruise, but have cruise a few times on RCCL, once with our sons aged 2 1/2 and 11 1/2.
What kind of programming is there for our older son? On RCCL he only went to the kids programs once and never went back. The problem was that he is 11 1/2 and the age range was for 9 - 11 year olds. He was the oldest one there and thoroughly bored. We were given the option of having him go to with 12 - 15 year old group, but he wasn't interested and, quite frankly, I don't think I would have let him go. There was almost no supervision for this age group, sometimes none, and all they did was hang out. He was too old for the younger group and too young for the older group. He had a great time with us, but I would have liked him to have been able to do some fun stuff with some other kids once in a while. Since we will not be going till next November, my little one will be old enough for the youngest group on the Disney cruise and I'm not really worried about him. I think it will be prfect for him!
What kind of activities are there on this cruise, both for all of us and for the kids?
We are DVC members and we're trying to decide whether to use points for this trip or to pay cash. Does anyone have any input on this?
On RCCL we booked a balcony quad cabin and when we checked in at the pier, we were able to upgrade to a suite for an extra $400. Does Disney do anything like this?
We were definitely spoiled by the suite, but it is kind of pricey to book one upfront.
Any other advice or suggestions any of you can think of would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you-
Alyson

 

[tkd lisa]

On Disney, the age range is 10-12, then 13-18. If he's going to be 12, he'll be one of the older ones, but they do lots of age appropriate things. I know the boys really enjoy the time up on the sports deck. During the "storming the lab" time, they can use the nintendo and gamecube type systems that they have, as well as the computer games. I'm not really up on the games, but the boys seemed to be playing them a lot, so they must be good ones.

I'd strongly suggest you check out the age group navigators on Barb and Tony's site www.castawayclub.com That should give you an idea what programming has to offer for him.

As far as upgrade, you can sometimes pay for one at the port if any are left. DCL cruises are usually pretty full, so sometimes, the upgrades aren't available because people are already in those cabins. Good luck!

 

[kcashner]

We've been cruising Disney for years....the 10-12 age group is fun. Admittedly, my DD did decide at one point that that lab was "lame", but she'd been in that group several times.

Disney does a good job of getting the ship nearly full on most cruises, so there are rarely upgrades available at the port. You can always ask, but a better rule is to book the category you want.

You need to calculate what a DVC point costs you. This depends totally on when you bought (as the price keeps increasing and the length of use shortens the more recently you purchased. I did the calculations shortly after our purchase, and I know that it come out a little "cheaper" to do the cruise on points. Of course, if you use points on the cruise, you don't have them for WDW....so only you can decide what is the best deal for your family. There is s reception for DVC members on the ship...but all DVC members may attend, not just those cruising on points.

Our key to the lab is always whether or not my daughter hooks up with a "buddy" in the first day or so. If she makes a friend, she wants to go to the lab...if not, she'd prefer to do other things.
Kathryn

 

[buzz2400]

I believe my son was 10 when we went. It is just myself and him. We walked into the kids area and he did not want to stay but it seemed like all the other kids were having a ball. Even if your son does not want to stay there, there is so much to do with the family. I had second thoughts about going but am glad that we did go. There really is plenty to do on the ship, movies, the pool, many activities scheduled. This has been about 2 years ago but the favorite thing my son loved doing was right before dinner in one of the rooms they something for the family which changed every night, like a spy party, a gameshow, etc. and if you win they give you prizes.