Planning 1st Land/Sea Cruise for 2020

[Groot]

I’ve been going to Disney for 22 years and going again later this year again. Taking 2019 off to save DVC points and use them for my 1st ever cruise. (Probably to the Caribbean since it’s my first time.) I have several questions, as I’ve never been on a cruise in my life.

1. When is the best time to go to avoid hurricanes, bad weather, etc.?

2. What is the best ship to go on for activities and other things? (ATM, only me and my mom are thinking about this and we’re both adults.)

3. Is planning a Land/Sea cruise more difficult than just planning a straight cruise?

4. I have a disability that requires the use of a mobility device and can’t decide if either a scooter for the entire vacation would be best or if I should just only use the scooter for the Land portion and switch over to either a powerchair rental (I’m scared of taking my own personal powerchair onto the airplanes ever since I saw a video of the ground crew at the airport damaging other powerchairs.) (I would also need to know if the powerchair rentals are either rear wheel drive or mid wheel drive since those two types are easy for me to use.) My other option is to switch over to a manual wheelchair for the cruise portion. (Possibly my own private chair since the rentals have the armrests that CAN’T be removed and I need that as an option if I’m to push myself sufficiently.)

5. I know that I’ll need to fill out the disability form in order to get an accessible room. How soon will I need to fill it out and send it in before the cruise?

6. What room category/view would be the best? Anyone got any room number recommendations?

Other than that, I have no other questions.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I’ve been going to Disney for 22 years and going again later this year again. Taking 2019 off to save DVC points and use them for my 1st ever cruise. (Probably to the Caribbean since it’s my first time.) I have several questions, as I’ve never been on a cruise in my life.

1. When is the best time to go to avoid hurricanes, bad weather, etc.?

2. What is the best ship to go on for activities and other things? (ATM, only me and my mom are thinking about this and we’re both adults.)

3. Is planning a Land/Sea cruise more difficult than just planning a straight cruise?

4. I have a disability that requires the use of a mobility device and can’t decide if either a scooter for the entire vacation would be best or if I should just only use the scooter for the Land portion and switch over to either a powerchair rental (I’m scared of taking my own personal powerchair onto the airplanes ever since I saw a video of the ground crew at the airport damaging other powerchairs.) (I would also need to know if the powerchair rentals are either rear wheel drive or mid wheel drive since those two types are easy for me to use.) My other option is to switch over to a manual wheelchair for the cruise portion. (Possibly my own private chair since the rentals have the armrests that CAN’T be removed and I need that as an option if I’m to push myself sufficiently.)

5. I know that I’ll need to fill out the disability form in order to get an accessible room. How soon will I need to fill it out and send it in before the cruise?

6. What room category/view would be the best? Anyone got any room number recommendations?

Other than that, I have no other questions.

1. Hurricane "season" is is June 1 through November 30. That said, bad weather can occur at any time.

2. None of the ships have an ATM. All the ships have adult as well as family activities.

3. There are no actual "Land and Sea" packages. DCL used to do those at one time, but no longer. Typically it's best (cost and amenity-wise) to book all parts of such a trip individually.

4. I'd suggest you contact Special Needs at Sea and ask about wheelchair/scooter rentals http://www.specialneedsatsea.com/about-us/our-cities/cape-canaveral-and-central-florida/. Also Brevard Medical (http://www.brevardmedicalequip.com/) rents wheelchair/scooters.

5. I don't know that you have fill out any sort of form to get an accessible room. But you can contact DCL Special Services to find out about that.

6. "Best" is in the eye of the beholder. Some people love verandah rooms, while others wouldn't cruise in anything but an inside room. That's your call.

 

[Quellman]

Hi Welcome Aboard~
1. Hurricane Season is from May - beginning of November. Granted, cruiselines will sail away and or around, so you likely won't be caught. It is generally recommended that you have some trip insurance to help offset should be delayed embarking or disembarking the cruise.
2. Ship matters with time of year and destination. Generally the Fantasy and Dream have the most bells and whistles being newer and bigger.
3. You will essentially plan two separate vacations if you do it yourself. A travel agency or agent could help you with both. The toughest part would be for transfer from hotel to port. But even Disney makes that stupid easy with their port transfer to/from hotels/port/airport.
4. There are some companies that you can rent from that will do shipside drop off of mobility aids. You can also call the DCL disability directly or find out more here. I don't blame you for trusting something so important to an airline. @PrincessShmoo beat me to it.
5. See number 4. I actually think you can book the room without much hassle online.
6. If on the dream and fantasy the accessible rooms in the 5e category are amazing for 2 people. Lots of floor space and the balcony is GINORMOUS. Downsides, some people don't like the back of the ship, some people state that the fantasy has too much vibration that the Dream doesn't have, oh and the TV is comically small in the stateroom, making it difficult to see from the couch. Also, there is no privacy curtain.

 

[Groot]

2. None of the ships have an ATM. All the ships have adult as well as family activities.

No, not ATM as in the cash machine, ATM as in “At the moment.” Lol

 

[Sunshine2U]

I would say book the trip where and when you want to go - and get the trip insurance. As stated previously, the ships do a good job of sailing around storms. If I had to pick one month, I'd say avoid September. It's still pretty darn hot and that seems to be the big month for hurricanes (except when they come in the other months).
If it could come into play, look into requirements for pre-existing conditions. Once you reach a certain point, there is no refund if you have to cancel the cruise.