Teens

[jrm11697]

What do your kid's like?

Solo activities, group activities and games? Will the itinerary matter to them?
People are different and knowing more about their personalities will help!

The Fantasy has the more up-to-date gadget's and tech, the Wonder not so much.

Ex Techie

They will go to social events but are not the life of the party. They would probably prefer to go to CC. Wonder doesn't go there, Fan. does over NYE 2012-13. We sailed the Wonder once before in '06 at that time, they went to the Lab

 

[extechie rbd/wdt]

If they just prefer to dip in a out, either ship is good for them!
The Fantasy does have more space for quiet time if they like reading or listening to music alone once there.
If they really wan't to go to CC then the Wonder is the obvious choice!

WDWJonasGirl's thread linked above is a good idea of her's and some other adult's reports and thought's of how their kid's liked the teen activities on different ships.

Ex Techie

 

[SnowWhite2]

Come join us on the Fantasy for NYE! It will be a great time.

My girls have cruised for years and would have it no other way by DCL. They are now 17 and 15. They still keep in touch with kids they met on board via facebook and texting.

Next year my DD17 is going to the University of Rochester. One of the boys she met on a cruise in 2008 lives near Rochester and will also be going there at the same time. They have stayed in contact all of these years.

The best advice I have is that the kids - all kids- need to go to their club early to make friends. At that point most people are "new" and more open to making friends. As the cruise goes on, those friendships have formed and it is harder to find a group to hang with.

 

[jrm11697]

If they just prefer to dip in a out, either ship is good for them!
The Fantasy does have more space for quiet time if they like reading or listening to music alone once there.
If they really wan't to go to CC then the Wonder is the obvious choice!

WDWJonasGirl's thread linked above is a good idea of her's and some other adult's reports and thought's of how their kid's liked the teen activities on different ships.

Ex Techie

? I said that the Wonder does NOT go there. Here are the itineraries:

FANTASY: Day 1- PC
Day 2 - SEA DAY
Day 3- SEA DAY
Day 4- St Thomas/John USVI
Day 5- San Juan, PR
Day 6- SEA DAY
Day 7- Castaway Cay
Day 8- PC

WONDER: Day 1- Miami
Day 2- Key West
Day 3- SEA DAY
Day 4- Grand Cayman
Day 5- Cozumel
Day 6- SEA DAY
Day 7- Miami

Also, can we watch college football on the ship (it will be bowl season)

 

[extechie rbd/wdt]

Sorry!
My Mistake!

If your Daughter is dead set on CC, then Fantasy it is then!

College football will be shown in the bar/pub on the Fantasy, O'Gill's Pub as it will be the equivalent of 687 or Diversions if satellite coverage and broadcasting right's are in place.

Your paying so where do you want to go that is a compromise if flight's or cruise prices differ too much?

Ex Techie

 

[jrm11697]

WOW, the price rose from yesterday. An oceanview stateroom on the Fantasy is $8,109!!!! For a OCEAN VIEW ROOM. and we would need to get a hotel room! Balcony is too much for us

The Wonder is $7,807.80 but we would need to fly + a hotel room. This cost a lot more than I thought...

Ugh, I really don't know what to do now!

 

[extechie rbd/wdt]

The longer you wait, the higher the price!

"Your paying so where do you want to go that is a compromise if flight's or cruise prices differ too much?"

Ex Techie

 

[jrm11697]

If we fly from Charlotte to Miami, its $445/person ($1780). So, $7807.80 + 445= $8,252. Cheaper than the Fantasy, by $143.80. not a HUGE difference but every bit can count

And the Fantasy goes to CC, cheaper,and we dont need a flight. Looks like we will be sailing on the Fantasy!! Now... a few more questions:

1. How do I book connecting cabins? I think it was this thread I asked but no answer yet.

2. What is a good hotel to stay at the night before? We stayed at Raddison last time.

3. Excursions? We will be going to St Thomas, San Jan, and CC

 

[extechie rbd/wdt]

You may have inadvertently thought the DISboards was a Travel Agent!

That's Dream's Unlimited who sponsor the DISboards!
http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/reservations/disney-cruise-line.cfm

But the FAQ Sticky on here:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2068966
has load's of valuable information within it.

If your question isn't there, then Google can be your friend in finding out information posted on the DISboard's rather than using the "search" feature on the site.

(disboards cruise + your search request) will often come up with be best info from the DISboards.

You must be familiar with the DCL website by now, and it does take a little bit of digging, but there is load's of info on there as well!
http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/

For example, here's their page for St. Thomas and St. John. with the excursions:
http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/cruises-destinations/caribbean/ports/st-thomas-st-john-us-virgin-islands/

San Juan is there on that page as well and Castaway Cay is on another all with excursions.

And as your obviously struggling a bit with finding info, here's today's thread on hotel's near the port:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2881210

HTH's and you can finally decide on the ship and itinerary to suit your whole family!

Ex Techie

 

[jrm11697]

You may have inadvertently thought the DISboards was a Travel Agent!

That's Dream's Unlimited who sponsor the DISboards!
http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/reservations/disney-cruise-line.cfm

But the FAQ Sticky on here:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2068966
has load's of valuable information within it.

If your question isn't there, then Google can be your friend in finding out information posted on the DISboard's rather than using the "search" feature on the site.

(disboards cruise + your search request) will often come up with be best info from the DISboards.

You must be familiar with the DCL website by now, and it does take a little bit of digging, but there is load's of info on there as well!
http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/

For example, here's their page for St. Thomas and St. John. with the excursions:
http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/cruises-destinations/caribbean/ports/st-thomas-st-john-us-virgin-islands/

San Juan is there on that page as well and Castaway Cay is on another all with excursions.

And as your obviously struggling a bit with finding info, here's today's thread on hotel's near the port:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2881210

HTH's and you can finally decide on the ship and itinerary to suit your whole family!

Ex Techie

Thanks for the links, they should help. And to be clear, I wasn't necessarily asking for direct answers. More like recommendations from experience

 

[BeeTeacher]

Those prices are high--look at changing dates. If you mean Bowl Season as in New Year's, yeah, that's a premium cost cruise date!

We are also a Family of 5, and going in March 2013 for much less!

 

[jrm11697]

Those prices are high--look at changing dates. If you mean Bowl Season as in New Year's, yeah, that's a premium cost cruise date!

We are also a Family of 5, and going in March 2013 for much less!

Yep, reconsidering it! I still would like to go over NYE, maybe I should go on another line. I could go on Disney but it would be VERY expensive. Dont know yet though...

 

[extechie rbd/wdt]

Thanks for the links, they should help. And to be clear, I wasn't necessarily asking for direct answers. More like recommendations from experience

Cool!

You have said your kid's are not the life of the party, but what do you want to do or like to do as a family?

Catamaran, bike, go to a butterfly farm, scuba or snorkel, Jet boat, see it by bus?

Looking at the excursions that will suit your whole family and then asking about them will help us all answer questions a lot easier if you can narrow it down to what you might like.

It doesn't matter if I like an water excursion like a Jet Boat ride and then a kayak excursion if your family would prefer a relaxing day on the beach in Megan's Bay in the morning then a bike ride or butterfly farm visit in the afternoon! lol!

Ex Techie

 

[lookitsaplane]

I agree! Im 16, and am going on my first ever cruise on the Disney Fantasy in five weeks. I am extremely excited for it! There looks to be tons of stuff to do in the teen clubs.

 

[njdisneylovr]

I have two teenager sons; one (16) who is shy and not outgoing at all. The other is 15 and can make friends standing in a checkout line. Both equally loved their Disney cruise. They were at Vibe from the time it opened until it closed. Both want to go back and we are next year.

 

[mstinson14]

I absolutely love the vibe. I don't know your teens, so I wouldn't be able to say whether or not they would enjoy the vibe, but that is the number one thing I look forward to every cruise. I always make life long friends up there too :

 

[MDTerp]

Our DD (15) absolutely loves DCL. Our last cruise on the Dream, she made a "B-line" straight for the Vibe. She has made great friends on all of our cruises and the last two, the teens have set up Facebook pages - closed group - for teens on that cruise to easily keep in touch. We have 3 more cruises planned in the next two years on DCL, and I think she would be extremely disappointed if we decided to sail another cruise line.

She even made "life-long" friends with a boy (who is two weeks younger than her and a very shy person). I mention this because even the more quiet teens seem to relax a bit on DCL.

 

[Mom24Princesses]

Our older 2 DDs were 12 and 14 the first time and they enjoyed it a lot. They were 14 & 16 the 2nd time and they had a blast. We were on a Spring Break week and there were something like 400 teens on board. They met two sets of sisters their age and one boy (go figure) and the 7 of them hung out all week until the wee hours. I am sure that they would be possitive in all of their comments. (They are about to be 19 and 21 now and are away at college - that is way we haven't been since 08)

 

[Smayco]

My 16 yo son *loved* the cruise (and didn't expect to). He spent time in Vibe on the first night, made a bunch of new friends, and hung out with them for the duration. My 13 yo son, who is the more outgoing one, didn't have AS good a time, but he enjoyed it as well. Both of them had originally thought it was going to be "just for kids".

 

[dmb1531]

My daughter is 22 and my son is 14. This is our 8th Disney Cruise and they loved every one of them. My heart is still with the Wonder and Magic, This will be our 2nd on the Dream and we are leaving on June 15th. Can't wait