Sea then Land Trip 11/2020 Input Appreciated!

[sydwolfe1014]

My sister and I are planning a trip to WDW right after Thanksgiving in 2020 and are debating on adding a cruise to the trip. I know most seem to recommend the Land then Sea vacation order, but was wondering if anyone had done Sea then Land? Your thoughts?

To give an overview of our trip- WDW is going to be a Monday-following Wednesday, so a 10 day trip, with day 10 just having breakfast and going home. We have the days planned out to allow for a "preview day" and a full day at the park...meaning like we're doing MVMCP on a Tuesday night, and then have a day at MK planned Wednesday. We're also planning for a Universal day and a "chill out" no plans day to help break everything up. While I know we're going to have full days no matter what, I feel like we're going to be able to relax a bit more then most and take things at a leisure, so doing the cruise at the front end shouldn't be too much.

Neither of us have been on any cruise; I've been to WDW 3 times as a child (5, 8, 17) and she's been once (8). We'll be turning 30 and 21 next year, hence this big trip for ourselves. Any input is appreciated!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

My sister and I are planning a trip to WDW right after Thanksgiving in 2020 and are debating on adding a cruise to the trip. I know most seem to recommend the Land then Sea vacation order, but was wondering if anyone had done Sea then Land? Your thoughts?

To give an overview of our trip- WDW is going to be a Monday-following Wednesday, so a 10 day trip, with day 10 just having breakfast and going home. We have the days planned out to allow for a "preview day" and a full day at the park...meaning like we're doing MVMCP on a Tuesday night, and then have a day at MK planned Wednesday. We're also planning for a Universal day and a "chill out" no plans day to help break everything up. While I know we're going to have full days no matter what, I feel like we're going to be able to relax a bit more then most and take things at a leisure, so doing the cruise at the front end shouldn't be too much.

Neither of us have been on any cruise; I've been to WDW 3 times as a child (5, 8, 17) and she's been once (8). We'll be turning 30 and 21 next year, hence this big trip for ourselves. Any input is appreciated!

Generally, I prefer land then cruise. Visiting WDW is really go, go, go every day, while the cruise is more laid back and a nice way to wind down the vacation.

That said, there certainly are people who do cruise and then WDW. It's a matter of preference, and convenience. Often doing the cruise second just doesn't jib with the dates of the vacation.

 

[spiders]

Getting off the ship isn't any fun. Going to WDW afterwards can certainly be fun. The parks are go, go, go but that's also the way people make it. You can choose to be go, go, go or you can choose to relax as well.

 

[clten]

We've done it both ways and they each have their benefits. We are no longer go, go, go parks people so even if we do the parks after the cruise, it isn't as if we lose that vacation relaxation we had on the cruise. But the reason we typically will do the parks first is that we like to come in before the cruise anyway (we won't fly in the day of the cruise). Coming in just a day early, doing the cruise then going to the parks seems to have more wasted/travel/transfer time to me. So rather than chopping up our trip, we'll come in for the land portion than transfer to the ship for the second half of vacation and then just leave the same day as disembarkation. (We find luggage handling works better this way too. We can do onboard airline checkin and have our luggage go right from the ship to our home airport without us; DCL doesn't do the transfer of luggage to the resort as smoothly - which I've always found odd!)

 

[MomOTwins]

The reason I prefer land then sea is that I am too nervous to fly down the day of, so I want to fly down at least a full day or more before, and I don't have the vacation days to stay both before and after a cruise, plus it is more cost efficient to visit WDW before the cruise since I have to pay for a hotel anyway. But with a 10 day stay it sounds like you have plenty of time, so I think go for it. I don't actually find the cruise more restful than the parks because we do a lot of activities and excursions on the cruise, and when we are at the parks we just fastpass everything and take midday breaks so it is pretty easy, so I think experiences on that vary too.

 

[RysMomma]

The first time we went with our children, we did two days before and two days after at the parks and the last time we went, we did four days before and none after. I have to say, I preferred the days before but that was mainly because it felt choppy with two days before and after. If you do it like you are planning with more than that after the cruise, you should be good! Either way, have fun!

 

[monarchsfan16]

Going to WDW after the cruise is a nice way to ease back into reality. You suddenly have to deal with chaos, but it is within the Disney bubble. It makes the transition to real life from the cruise MUCH easier. That being said, sea legs are real. We didn't do the parks after our cruise, but we did ride buses to Disney Springs and such, and that first bus ride standing up, a few hours after walking off the ship was a little difficult. The Void at Disney Springs that afternoon was interesting as well! I would imagine some rides could be challenging too. But it sounds like with your schedule you would be easing into Disney, so that could be less of an issue. And I will be planning a Disney day after our 2021 cruise, so sea legs and all, I'd still do it; it is just something to be aware of.

 

[mmouse37]

We've done it both ways and they each have their benefits. We are no longer go, go, go parks people so even if we do the parks after the cruise, it isn't as if we lose that vacation relaxation we had on the cruise. But the reason we typically will do the parks first is that we like to come in before the cruise anyway (we won't fly in the day of the cruise). Coming in just a day early, doing the cruise then going to the parks seems to have more wasted/travel/transfer time to me. So rather than chopping up our trip, we'll come in for the land portion than transfer to the ship for the second half of vacation and then just leave the same day as disembarkation. (We find luggage handling works better this way too. We can do onboard airline checkin and have our luggage go right from the ship to our home airport without us; DCL doesn't do the transfer of luggage to the resort as smoothly - which I've always found odd!)

Ditto all the way!!!

MJ

 

[sydwolfe1014]

Thank you everyone for your input! After looking over all the dates of cruises, we’re going to try a sea then land vacation, so a 2 week get away including the night before in the hotel. We booked our cruise last night so let the countdown begin!!

 

[tee11]

We've done both, and I will echo that each has pros and cons... WDW time is also a lot of pool time for us, since that is what the kids like, and we go with the flow in the parks so it's not too much or too strenous.
I've also found that I HATE packing suitcases on the last day of the cruise... and it's worse if I'm packing for air travel...and I don't want to miss anything on board and it's really hard to take into account all the airline travel restrictions - something has always gotten confiscated (suntan lotion, sprays, etc. not a big deal, but still a hassle)... For these reasons the last few times we've always stayed for a few days in WDW after the cruise. I've been WAY more relaxed at the end of the cruise that way! ...and it's not such a shock that the cruise is over... and we relax by the pool and enjoy the "space" on land... etc.

Also, interestingly, the Resort Airline check in has been top notch and has SAVED us... because they *weigh your luggage*. Has saved us from some hefty fees due to "asymmetrical packing"!
On our most recent cruise we actually did BOTH! A two days before AND a few days after... and that was probably the best, lol.