Newbie with a few questions for the experienced here!!

[Suzanne74]

I am looking into a cruise for early Sept with DH and my 4yr old dd. I am so excited because not only have I grown up disney crazy but my daughter has a disney fixation since our first and only family trip last Sept. She sleeps with her Minnie doll EVERYNIGHT! I have only been on a 4 night cruise about 10 yrs ago and DH and dd have never cruised at all. This will be our last year before dd goes into kindergarten so I have heard early Sept (although hurricane season) is the best time to go to beat the crowds and prices.

Anyway - I am having a tough time realizing the prices. RCL seems to have bigger ships with a much better price, esp verandah rooms for similar cruises. Now, we love disney but for anyone who has done both - please give me confidence that paying the extra money will be worth it!!

Also what is a navigator's verandah compared to the more expensive verandah. Is any verandah worth it at all for the price. For a navigator's it looks to be $650 more for the 4 night and almost $1100 more for 7 night.

Speaking of, why are the 7 night cruises more than double a 4 night cruise when really you are only getting 3 nights more? Is it because of the islands?
I have already been to the Bahamas a few times and I am not a big fan, I really want the Western Carribean but we are talking $1300 more for the same verandah room - ugh!!

Anyway don't want to ramble - would love to hear some comments on what us 3 should look for on the Disney cruise..

Thanks for listening!!

 

[depomas]

Hi there.. We have never been on any other cruise line other than DCL, and after hearing a lot of other posters on other lines, I will remain doing DCL until my ds9 and dd6 grow up ( a lot). We have done 3 seven nighters, and feel that will the price of air fare that this is most worth it for us. If I lived closer then possibly would consider shorter cruises. Our last cruise was the only one with the verandah (special), and we did not use it enough to justify the cost the next time. We will continue to take the cheapest room, and use the secret deck 7 aft deck when we need to.

I am sure you will get a lot of posters here giving you their experiences. Good Luck in your decision.

 

[Suzanne74]

okay - I am so new (with disney cruises anyway) that I don't know what deck 7 after deck is? I would love if you could explain.


Thanks!!

 

[alexandrew]

You are right, early September will offer the best pricing for cruising, mindful of your DD's starting school....

Trust me, and all the other posters that will add to this thread, DCL is worth every penny!!!!!

If you are cost conscious about your upcoming cruise, I highly recommend a category 9 outside stateroom on deck 2....Huge porthole window providing plenty of light....you will save BIG $ vs a verandah stateroom...$1100 you stated can go a looooong way toward tips, shopping et al...PM me and I will give you specific staterooms I have cruised in and why I recommend them....

Actually, the 7 night is not generally double the price of the 4 night....It really depends on time of year, specific cruise, demand, etc....typically, the 7 day is double the cost of the 3-day, which makes it the best value...

The deck 7 overlook is a not-so-secret-anymore "place' on, you guessed it, deck 7 all the way aft....a nice large deck area great for taking pix and hanging out....

 

[Suzanne74]

There are a few 3 nigth cruises for $359/pp, a few 4 night cruises in Sept for $399/pp and then the eastern for $799 and western for $899/pp. Although I really want to go to the Caymen's I am thinking another $500+ pp is a lot for only 3 more nights. I still need to look at the final numbers though. Right now though, the 4 night seems to be the bargain.

thank you - I was thinking the verandah would be nice but after looking at the Navigator's one, I am not that impressed with it. I was thinking something nice to sit out there while my dd napped but it doesn't look that comfy for long periods - maybe I am wrong. I would love to know the rooms, thank you for responding, I will PM you now!!

 

[docsbd]

We just returned from an eastern 7 night cruise. Disney is definantly more expensive than other lines we have been on. It is a good ship, and maybe worth it for your daughter. They have characters, mickey pools, and really cater to the kids.

Our son is 4 and he had an ok time at the kids club. At four they really don't make friends and don't really want to go to the club.

If your daughter takes a nap it may be worthwhile to have a verandah so you can feel like you are outdoors and not cooped up in your room. Also nice if she goes to sleep early so again you can open the doors and get some fresh air.

The nice thing about the disney cruise is that you don't feel like your interrupting any one when your kid screams or acts up. During the shows, and at dinner, everyone else's kids are doing the same thing.

Overall its a good time, but at four, if celebrity or royal carribean has a kids club it might be just as good.

Hope this helps a little, docsbd

 

[moinab]

We booked a cat 11 inside stateroom for our 3-night, but were upgraded to a cat 9, with the giant porthole. We absolutely loved it.

We cruised with our 2 year old DS and 5 1/2 month old DD, and while they napped, we napped along with them!!! We were so exhausted from all the activity, we needed naps every day, too!

Although this was our first cruise, we can't imagine cruising on another line. We feel the Disney touches are worth the extra money. It really depends on what you are looking for. We aren't interested in casinos, nightclubs, and Las Vegas-y shows, so the entertainment options on the other cruise lines seem limited.

Another thing to keep in mind in comparing the price of the 4-night vs. the 7-night is the extra 3 nights of tips. If you're on a tight budget, that can really make a difference.

I had no interest in Nassau, so I just stayed on the ship. Castaway Cay was great. I'd love to do the Western (we're planning on it after I graduate from nursing school next year,) but I'd be very happy to go on the 4-night, if I had the chance!

HTH

 

[Sue (mom of 3 boys!)]

Just my 2 cents....

When a friend of mine told me if we did "Disney" for a cruise, we would never cruise another line again, I thought she was nuts.

She was right.

We have cruised other lines, and had a wonderful time. We didn't think Disney could top them. They did.

The service was much better, the atmosphere was more relaxing. We felt there was more than enough to do for each one of us (family of 5). The staterooms are bigger and the split baths are great.

We have never re-booked while on board another cruise. This time we did.

Like I said--
just my 2 cents.

 

[MickeyB426]

okay - I am so new (with disney cruises anyway) that I don't know what deck 7 after deck is? I would love if you could explain.


Thanks!!

It's not "deck 7 after deck"...it's "deck 7 aft".

It's ship jargon.

"Aft" is the rear of the ship.
"Fore" or "forward" is front.
"Midship" is, well, mid-ship

So Deck 7 aft is the 7th deck, in the rear of the ship.

 

[txaggie94gigem]

Our first cruise was a 4 day wonder cruise last november. Since there were 5 of us we had to get a cat 4 room which was about $3400. I was excited to have a verandah but to be honest, we really didi not use it that much. In fact, there were times I "made us" stay there just i could feel like I was getting my moneys worth! We spent most of our time on deck and in the lounges and EATING! In case you did not know, every meal lasts 2 hours! LOL We pretty much only slept and changed clothes in our room!

This year I have made our ressie for october 2005 for a 7 day eastern cruise and for a cat 8 and a cat 11 across the hall the cost is $5390. We just did not use the verandah enough to justify paying so much more for it....

By the way, the other posters are right...with the slow rocking of the ship it is very tempting to nap every day!