Newbie Questions

[DancingBear]

I'm new over here on the cruise boards, but I'm starting to think in general terms about a land/sea trip in the first half of 2005 (4-day cruise), and have a few starter questions:

1--If you were picking dates between January and May for a 4-day cruise, what would you choose, and why? Weather factors? Discounts?

2--Would you do WDW first and then the cruise, or vice-versa?

3--I've always been a do-it-yourself planner for our WDW trips, never a package. Are the land/sea packages worth it? Why or why not?

FYI, our group would be me, my wife, 4yo son (at the time of the cruise), and maybe my son's godmother.

Thanks for your input!

 

[mamagoggle]

We did the 3 day land/ 4 day sea in March of 2001 and we will be doing the same in March 2004. The weather was gorgeous...warm enough for swimming, but reasonable for standing in lines at the parks. The crowds and prices weren't bad because we weren't cruising at peak times.
I would definitely do the land portion first because the parks tend to wear you out and then you can relax as much as you'd like on the cruise. My kids were so tired from 3 days of Disney World, etc. that they didn't even want to get off of the ship until Castaway Cay. We passed on Nassau and still had a terrific time.
From what I hear you can book the two sections separately and have more flexibility and save money, but it was very very convenient to get the package. I loved the way our same KTTW cards worked on land and at sea and our luggage was moved around for us with no hassles.

 

[PiperG]

We enjoyed the land and sea (3-day cruise) so much that we have another one booked for this upcoming February. I would prefer the 4-day cruise, but I believe that puts you in the World on Thur/Fri/Sat, which are busy days (according to DH). The 3-day cruise puts us in the parks Sun-Thur, and I guess those are better days. Someone may have more data, but that is what our TA told us.

Anyway, we also liked the convenience of the package. Everything was very smooth and linked together. We did Disney transfers, which cost extra but really made the transition from park to ship easy. However, I am sure others will have an opinion on that, especially if you have a large group. It was just the three of us.

I agree with the poster above that Jan is a great time. Of course, being from MN, I will do anything to get out of the cold weather in January

 

[DancingBear]