Plan to take cruise, please help

[mynas]

Hi
we're planning to take cruise next year january, we have kids, age range from 1 to 7. I have questions:
1) 3 days or 4 days cruise is good?
2) is January a good month to go on cruise, weather is good?
3) what is the good age for the kids to go on disney cruise?

thanks

 

[disneyfan19712006]

Hi
we're planning to take cruise next year january, we have kids, age range from 1 to 7. I have questions:
1) 3 days or 4 days cruise is good?
2) is January a good month to go on cruise, weather is good?
3) what is the good age for the kids to go on disney cruise?

thanks

If you opt for a 3 by the last night you will be wishing for the 4. I've done two of each and the 4 night is awesome you get all 4 restaurants and the special pirate night menu.
I can't say for Jan. but December was fine. The water at CC was a little cold but other than that everything was great.
I am taking a 6 yr old later this month. I am expecting him to have a blast at the kids club, I just hope he has time to at least eat with us. I would say at least 3 so they can participate in the club.

 

[mynas]

thanks disneyfan19712006,
we are living in Canada, should we fly 1 day earlier or arrive on the departure date? and which travel agent you book with? or disney website? do they offer the same price?

 

[tinkerbell34]

I'll chime in and just say fly in the day before. That way if there are any airline delays due to weather, ect, you won't need to worry about missing the boat.
I booked with the Disney website at first and then transfered my reservation to Dreams unlimited in order to get the shipboard credit. I also did it in case they detect any discounts that come out in the future (for me it would be the FL resident rate).
Good luck and enjoy your cruise!

 

[WDWLVR]

I'm moving this to the main cruise forum for you.

 

[Anal Annie]

thanks disneyfan19712006,
we are living in Canada, should we fly 1 day earlier or arrive on the departure date? and which travel agent you book with? or disney website? do they offer the same price?

Yes - go at least a day early! You should ESPECIALLY plan to go a day or two ahead of time in the winter - and get trip insurance! Booking air thru DCL will most likely be more $. Get a quote from your TA or DCL and check it on your own! January will be cooler, naturally but it is one of the cheapest times to go!

 

[mommasita]

thanks disneyfan19712006,
we are living in Canada, should we fly 1 day earlier or arrive on the departure date? and which travel agent you book with? or disney website? do they offer the same price?

Hi, and to the cruise forums from a fellow Canadian.

ALWAYS arrive early for a cruise. A day early is playing it safe. We never know if a delay will happen. This can happen in any weather, and with any airline. Mechanicals do happen, and you do not want to miss that ship.

Any age is good for a DCL, and those ages are marvelous IMHO..
We have booked through Dreams Unlimited.
I have never cruised in January, but enjoy the 7 day cruises. Even they are too short. But it is a good idea to try a 3 or 4 day to see how your family enjoys it.

 

[3BoysRDisneyFreaks]

I'll chime in and just say fly in the day before. That way if there are any airline delays due to weather, ect, you won't need to worry about missing the boat.
I booked with the Disney website at first and then transfered my reservation to Dreams unlimited in order to get the shipboard credit. I also did it in case they detect any discounts that come out in the future (for me it would be the FL resident rate).
Good luck and enjoy your cruise!

How do you go about the reservation transfer? Is there a charge?


Sarah

 

[mynas]

thanks all for the valuable information

 

[NancyIL]

Our Jan. 20-24, 2008 cruise had iffy weather. It was cold (by FL standards) when we left Port Canaveral, and it was warmer but still windy and rainy in Nassau. The sun came out and it warmed up for Castaway Cay, and the sea day had the best weather. It was also chilly at WDW the 4 days I was there after the cruise. Naturally - it warmed up as soon as I flew home!

 

[lattemomof3]

We just booked our 1st cruise, a 4 day, for Jan. 11-15th. I just booked directly through DCL. I think it helps if you call vs. doing it online, especially if you have a family of 5 or more. You won't get the $25 ship credit you would if you did it online, but I think the sweet gal we talked to got us a better rate than I could have found myself. I have also read great things about booking from DU, so check them out also. We are taking DD 9, DS 6, and DD who will turn 3 right before we go. If you have a 2 year old, it might be worth it to book 30 days or less before they turn 3, they can still join the kids club if potty trained and their cruise will be much cheaper. We got a great price on 2 category 11 side by side rooms for our Jan. date. I have been checking any dates from Dec. through Feb. We are in Nebraska, and had a snow day yesterday from school bec. of a blizzard, so I am thinking even if it's a bit cooler in Jan. we will be in heaven!
We are going to fly down the day before and stay at a hotel near the port, I'm checking on prices now for hotels. Good Luck!

 

[tinkerbell34]

How do you go about the reservation transfer? Is there a charge?


Sarah

No, there is no charge. You just have to fill out the transfer form and your done.

We are also driving in the day before and staying at the Radisson. Then we can park our car for free there and they have complimentary shuttle transportation to and from the port.

 

[jenseib]

I never even thought about going a day early. Good idea. What time does the ship leave and what time do you get back? Do most of you use Disney transportation (which I am surprised is not included) or rent a car?

 

[Jeninpa]

I never even thought about going a day early. Good idea. What time does the ship leave and what time do you get back? Do most of you use Disney transportation (which I am surprised is not included) or rent a car?

We go down the day before and rent a car. Then we return the car the day we board and the car rental place has free "shuttles" aka vans,lmao, to take you to the port. WAY cheaper!

 

[jenseib]

Who do you rent from? And do they pick you back up after the cruise?

Also what time is a good time to schedule a flight on the return day? We honeslty cannot be away from home more than 4 or 5 nights as we have a dariy farm. So if we come down a day early, and do a 4 day crusie, we really need to get back that day at some point.

 

[Jeninpa]

Who do you rent from? And do they pick you back up after the cruise?

Also what time is a good time to schedule a flight on the return day? We honeslty cannot be away from home more than 4 or 5 nights as we have a dariy farm. So if we come down a day early, and do a 4 day crusie, we really need to get back that day at some point.

I think it was Avis or Budget.....I will double check. When you get off the ship there are area's for the car rental company vans. You get in that area and they take you to the car rental place.

 

[Buckeye Gal]

Sorry for the , OP...

I never even thought about going a day early. Good idea. What time does the ship leave and what time do you get back? Do most of you use Disney transportation (which I am surprised is not included) or rent a car? Who do you rent from? And do they pick you back up after the cruise?

Also what time is a good time to schedule a flight on the return day? ....

Arriving the day before is a no brainer for us. Especially these days as there are fewer flights, which means less flexibility to get you there in the event you get detained for any reason. Also, as I've been flying in the past year, it seems there are more and more delays than there used to be. That's just TOO much stress for us. Furthermore, if your luggage gets lost (which happened to me recently on a direct flight), if you're arriving on Friday, that gives it more time to get it to you before you set sail.

The ship leaves port at 5:00ish, but if I remember correctly, I understand according to Homeland Security everyone HAS to be on board by 4:00, which is also about the time for the muster drill. IMO, you realy should be on-board by 3:00.

DCL buses vs. renting vehicles or a limo/town car can be a decision based on finance or preference. Depending on family size, it may be less money to rent than take the bus.

If you're flying in the day before and want to take the bus, obviously you will need to stay at an airport hotel to pick up the DCL bus on embarkation day. Many perfer to get in the day before and stay at a hotel in Cape Canaveral or Cocoa Beach, which puts you back to renting or getting a limo/town car. Rental car companies do have shuttles to/from the port. Check out http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1520273"] loving Shirley's awesome thread, which will answer a lot of your questions around rental transportation as well.

As for debarkation day, DCL recommends you do not book a flight before 12:30 pm. It's unpredictable what time the ship will get the clear from Customs to start allowing passengers off, although it could be as early as 7:00ish. With that said, you'll read that many people here have flights at 10:30. Again, I'm not a risk taker like that (What if we don't get clearance to get off early in the morning? What if transportation method back to the airport has breakdown issues or traffic delays? etc.), but you may be willing to take that risk in order to get back home to the farm.

Now...back to the OP's thread question!

 

[samily]

Who do you rent from? And do they pick you back up after the cruise?

Also what time is a good time to schedule a flight on the return day? We honeslty cannot be away from home more than 4 or 5 nights as we have a dariy farm. So if we come down a day early, and do a 4 day crusie, we really need to get back that day at some point.

Avis, Budget, Thrifty and a couple of others are in Port Canaveral and offer free shuttles to/from the ship. It is much cheaper for us to do 2 one way rentals than use DCL's transportation (I think DCL charges 39.00 per person one way or 70.00 per person round trip). Renting on your own also gets you to the port as early as you want, whereas DCL's busses don't get there until around 1pm I believe.

As far as return flights, Disney does not recommend booking anything before 12 or 12:30 I think. Others have posted that they have made earlier flights, while others have also posted of delays in customs clearing the ship for debarkation, traffic to the airport and check in and security delays at MCO, so I would follow DCL's guidelines to save yourself the stress

Definitely fly in at least a day before your cruise!