Pirates & Pals Fireworks Cruise Voyage Question

[oceanmarina]

Hi all,

I am thinking of surprising my family and booking this cruise. It looks wonderful & both my kids ages 9 & 6 enjoy the pirate theme. The only thing is I read a few reviews on trip advisor that said the fireworks view isn't that great since the boat has the roof on top which obstructs your view & one side of the boat (either the left or right) has a much better view than the other side, and if you are stuck on that other side it's not good since the boat parks in that position and does not alternate sides.

I was wondering people's thoughts on this who have been on the cruise and if you can choose which side you sit on. Also if anyone knows which side has the better view, left or right side.

Thanks for any feedback,
Marina

 

[Jennygt]

Hi all,

I am thinking of surprising my family and booking this cruise. It looks wonderful & both my kids ages 9 & 6 enjoy the pirate theme. The only thing is I read a few reviews on trip advisor that said the fireworks view isn't that great since the boat has the roof on top which obstructs your view & one side of the boat (either the left or right) has a much better view than the other side, and if you are stuck on that other side it's not good since the boat parks in that position and does not alternate sides.

I was wondering people's thoughts on this who have been on the cruise and if you can choose which side you sit on. Also if anyone knows which side has the better view, left or right side.

Thanks for any feedback,
Marina

Hi gf friend!! i was wondering the same thing about this cruise.

 

[oceanmarina]

bump

 

[Narawen]

We did the cruise last October and loved it. We were on the far side of the boat and still had a great view. I didn't notice any obstruction and the view was better than when we had been in the park near where the wishes fast pass area is.

The left side of the boat is the closer side. You are assigned a row number when you check in and that dictates which side you're on. You would need to request the left side (I believe odd numbered rows) when you book or at check in.

 

[ruthies12]

We did the cruise in January 2014 and did not care for it at all. However, my kids were 5 and 1 so much younger than yours. The reception beforehand was very rushed with no photographers for the meet and greets with hook and smee or peter pan. It was very foggy and we were stuck out on the boat forever (fyi there is no bathroom on the boat) because the fireworks were delayed. Here is a picture of the view we had. We were assigned our seats at check in and were not given an opportunity to request anything different. We were on the "bad side" of the boat and had to stand during the fireworks in order to see anything at all. What we did see was very poor quality, mainly because of the fog, but I also did not care for the distance and the fact that we couldn't see the castle.

My suggestion would be to do it for the boat ride and not the fireworks view. If your main goal is a fireworks view I would suggest the dessert party or get FP+. However this question comes up quite a bit on these boards and I always seem to be in the minority on my opinion of this experience so take that for what it's worth!

 

[ach222]

we did it last month and it was awesome! I thought the view was amazing, very cool perspective - we were on the left side by chance, but no one on the right side seemed to have any trouble. You are far enough out that the roof shouldn't really block anything.

 

[ach222]

We did the cruise in January 2014 and did not care for it at all. However, my kids were 5 and 1 so much younger than yours. The reception beforehand was very rushed with no photographers for the meet and greets with hook and smee or peter pan. It was very foggy and we were stuck out on the boat forever (fyi there is no bathroom on the boat) because the fireworks were delayed. Here is a picture of the view we had. We were assigned our seats at check in and were not given an opportunity to request anything different. We were on the "bad side" of the boat and had to stand during the fireworks in order to see anything at all. What we did see was very poor quality, mainly because of the fog, but I also did not care for the distance and the fact that we couldn't see the castle.

My suggestion would be to do it for the boat ride and not the fireworks view. If your main goal is a fireworks view I would suggest the dessert party or get FP+. However this question comes up quite a bit on these boards and I always seem to be in the minority on my opinion of this experience so take that for what it's worth!
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I'm amazed you didn't have a photo pass for the Hook/Smee meet - we did (Jan 2015) and they are some of our fav pics - that would have bummed me out too

 

[ruthies12]

Yes I was majorly bummed about it! It is probably one of the main reasons why I did not care for the overall cruise. I had purchased memory maker and we went to the cruise with my 5 year old dd dressed as Izzy from Jake and the Neverland Pirates and my youngest dd was in a tinkerbell onesie. I was expecting some cute pictures and all I have is one pic that another family was kind enough to take for me of us with hook and smee and my little dd is totally turned away from the camera so you can't even see her face.

When we got to see Peter at least the handler offered to take pictures with our camera and she did snap a couple. But my daughter was really confused because Peter didn't recognize her outfit at all, which is odd since it was the official Disney Izzy costume, not a knockoff. He did not appear to know who Izzy was.

 

[Planner2012]

We did this cruise in 2012. My DD was 9 and DS was 6 at the time. We all really enjoyed it. Our seats were on the left side of the boat, but I don't remember those on the right side having any viewing issues. My kids dressed up as pirates, as did several others. I don't think the snacks before the cruise were anything great (from what I recall: Mickey Rice Krispie treats, fruit, goldfish, cake, lemonade), but that wasn't why we chose it. We aren't doing this again on our upcoming trip, as it was a one time thing for us, but glad we did it.

 

[ach222]

Just to chime in again, there was also a photo pass for Peter Pan last month as well (which is nice since it's dark when you meet him)

 

[Narawen]

Just to chime in again, there was also a photo pass for Peter Pan last month as well (which is nice since it's dark when you meet him)

We had photo pass as well, for hook + smee and Peter. In addition, the handler took photos with our camera.

I love both hook and smee and was dressed as some and had good interaction with them and Peter. It did feel a little rushed, because the photographers were only allowing one group combination per family- no pictures with just this kid, then just that kid, then both kids, then the parents, etc. But they still had time for autographs and multiple photos with each group.

 

[oceanmarina]

I'm a little torn, I am doing it for the experience but the fireworks view is pretty important too.

 

[DWillowBay]

This is a great experience. You will have a great time before, during and after the cruise. I guess there will always be those who feel disappointed, but our family LOVED this. Great food, great surprises, great cruise, great fireworks....everything was.....GREAT!

 

[disneyeveryyear]

We did the cruise in January 2014 and did not care for it at all. However, my kids were 5 and 1 so much younger than yours. The reception beforehand was very rushed with no photographers for the meet and greets with hook and smee or peter pan. It was very foggy and we were stuck out on the boat forever (fyi there is no bathroom on the boat) because the fireworks were delayed. Here is a picture of the view we had. We were assigned our seats at check in and were not given an opportunity to request anything different. We were on the "bad side" of the boat and had to stand during the fireworks in order to see anything at all. What we did see was very poor quality, mainly because of the fog, but I also did not care for the distance and the fact that we couldn't see the castle.

My suggestion would be to do it for the boat ride and not the fireworks view. If your main goal is a fireworks view I would suggest the dessert party or get FP+. However this question comes up quite a bit on these boards and I always seem to be in the minority on my opinion of this experience so take that for what it's worth!
View attachment 79504

We also had a less than stellar experience. Maybe our group wasn't the right demographic (the kids were pre-teen and teens), but we like to try something new on each trip. There was heavy fog for us, and our fireworks view was very disappointing. It was an expensive night ($360) for what we got.

 

[fsupharm77]

We had a wonderful time on it in Nov 13. My wife MIL and I were on the Right side while the 4 kids(DD11 DS7 nephews 11&5) were on the left directly across from us. We were seated at the front of the boat and the view for both sides was great. It was a nice way to see the fireworks from a different perspective. There were photopass photographers at both locations. There was plenty of time for snacks if you are there early to be in when they open the doors. There were plenty of snacks and the kids were encouraged to take stuff to go with them. There was a ton of sugar consumed!! The captain of the ship was a hoot and interacted very well with both the kids and the adults. Would definitely do it again.

 

[ruthies12]

I must say that if I had had the view in fsupharm77's picture I would have been a lot happier with our experience. I wonder what the reason was that we were so much further away when I did the cruise? Especially with the fog that night you would think they would have got as close as possible. I'm glad you got some other opinions and pictures to help you with your decision. It is so hard to know with these things. My family LOVED the dessert party on tomorrowland terrace but I've heard a lot of people didn't care for the desserts offered and felt it was a waste of money for various reasons so you just never know. Good luck with your decision!

 

[fsupharm77]

I must say that if I had had the view in fsupharm77's picture I would have been a lot happier with our experience. I wonder what the reason was that we were so much further away when I did the cruise? Especially with the fog that night you would think they would have got as close as possible. I'm glad you got some other opinions and pictures to help you with your decision. It is so hard to know with these things. My family LOVED the dessert party on tomorrowland terrace but I've heard a lot of people didn't care for the desserts offered and felt it was a waste of money for various reasons so you just never know. Good luck with your decision!

I believe my wife did crop the photo, so not as close as that appeared but the view was good. I can see where on a night where the wind is blowing towards the boats and the temp is near the dew point, then the fireworks will be hard to see from a distance. We had a perfect night for a view. I would have probably been disappointed if we couldn't have seen the castle through the smoke.