Never been on a cruise before....

[momminnie]

We have never been on a cruise before and I was wanting to plan a Disney cruise. When is the best time to go? How many nights do you suggest for !st timers? How long in advance can you book one and be paying on it? Like I said never been on a cruise and I need to know everything! From A to Z. All advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[ahain]

My best advice would be to just start scanning the posts here at the DIS. You'll find input and answers to most of your questions have already been posted here - you may even need to go back and look at the older posts on pages 2 & 3, etc.

There's a lot of good information and many friendly people here.

Whatever you choose, I'm sure you'll love your Disney cruise. Our first was in 2012 and was only a 3 night (Bahamas). We thought that would be good because we didn't know if we would like cruising or not. In retrospect, I wish we had gone on at least a 4 night - we're hooked!

Have fun looking through the posts and gleaning information.

 

[momminnie]

bump!

 

[DisneYE]

bump!

How many kids do you have? or, how many are doing the cruise?

My advice is, go for the 7 night cruise... Our 1st cruise we did 4 nights and our daughter cried when we left the ship (she was 5 then) when we told her there was a 7 night.... We've done 7 nights only since, and plan to do a TA next year.
However, if you have 3-4 kids that will impact your cost quite a bit and you might want to try a 3-4 night instead... But again, even at 7 nights, there is so much to do on board and off ship that it seems the time is not enough (in our case we could easily do a B2B 7 night...but we are huge DCL fans)

As for when? It depends as well.
If you don't like crowds and your kids can miss a few days of school, go for Oct/Nov cruises as they tend to be cheaper and less crowded
Summer cruises are usually full and if crowds bother you it might be a bit uncomfortable. We don't mind, so we always chose a sailing to coincide with our DD's holiday break at school..

Other than that, you'll find a treasure trove of information on here.. The search button is your friend... Happy planning!

 

[su_A_ve]

bump!

Patience...

Here are a couple of things to keep in mind:

* Rates depend on when you travel - if kids are out of school, rates will be high
* Rates start cheap when release and they go up as the ship sells
* Rates come out about a year and a half ahead of time - (up to April 2015 right now - rest of 2015 very soon)
* You need to pay a 20% deposit, balance in full 75 days before sailing
* You MUST get trip insurance - it's not the same as the parks
* Although everything is included pretty much, excursions, tips, pictures, alcohol are typical things that will add up.
* Start with a 4n - a 3n is too short, a 7n could be too long
* Pick whatever type of stateroom you'll feel comfortable but note that most of them are balcony.
* Prices are fixed by DCL - there are no discounts (other than last minute promotions by DCL). But a TA will typically give you some on-board-credits which can be used towards add-ons mentioned above (tips, excursions, etc).

Good luck and enjoy planning ahead!

 

[Luv2Diz]

I highly recommend the book Passporter for Disney Cruise Line. It covers everything from information about each ship, cabin selection, dining, deck plans, onboard activities, kids clubs, excursions and so much more. I've done 3 cruises now and I still enjoy referring to it.

 

[STUR]

We have never been on a cruise before and I was wanting to plan a Disney cruise. When is the best time to go? How many nights do you suggest for !st timers? How long in advance can you book one and be paying on it? Like I said never been on a cruise and I need to know everything! From A to Z. All advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

I also suggest a 7 night and not a inside cabin (at least a port hole out side to keep money down) any thing less is a waste of money
Remember the first day you are getting settled and last day to go home

 

[JimGA]

I would start out with a 4 night cruise, like others have mentioned, a 3 night is too short and a 7 night might be too long for a first time cruiser.

the rooms are small, especailly the inside rooms, so if you are claustaphobic, i would recommend an outside room with a balcony, when you compare the prices, it is not much more.

Book through a travel agent that offers shipboard credits, we got $175 of free money by using a travel agent.

Book early you will get a better rate, very rarely do the rates for DCL go on sale, if they do it it typically for cruises during off peak times.

Our kids get out of school the week before Memorial Day weekend, we cruised Memorial Day weekend and saved several hundreds of dollars, the prices jumped up the first week in June. Anytime you can book off peak is the best prices.

You will absolutley love it! So book it.

 

[muse7mom]

I'm enjoying reading the boards but so much info is contradictory. Everyone has a different perspective and point of view.
We are first timers but were leaning toward the 7 day.
I'm just so excited for all of the choices! Darn Disney for making something so irresistible!

 

[lbgraves]

That is a very open-ended request and it isn't possible for anyone to answer without knowing specifics about your traveling group and itinerary. The best way to start your planning is to read through the FAQ thread for this forum. Next read the first 4-5 pages of posts. This will give you the basics and the most discussed topics. You will have questions of your own from these, so then post on those threads or start one of your own if you have a specific question about something not on those first few pages.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2068966

 

[natmom]

Does anyone is your group suffer from motion sickness? If not and you are leaning towards 7 night, I would go for it. My husband gets motion sick and we had never cruised so we tried a 4 night, neither of us wanted to get off the ship and we rebooked a 7 night for this May.