Tips for 3 generation cruise

[disneykins]

We're hoping to cruise Jan 2027 for a 70th and 40th birthday. We are 2 in early 70s, 3 mid 30s and 1 (boy) aged 5. We did the Magic and Wonder in the 90s when thats all there was. We haven't cruised Disney since but have cruised over 50 times on other lines. Which would be the best for our ages. We (grandparents) prefer the old stuff, Peter Pan, Snow White, Mary Poppins. The 30 somethings prefer Lion King, Aladdin, Little Mermaid, Hunchback, Pocahontas. And the 5 year old likes Spiderman, Bluey and Paw Patrol(I don't think their Disney, lol), dinosaurs and swimming. He's the only one who is into any of the Marvel characters. None of us have seen the recent Disney animation like, Coco, Elements, Encanto, Luca. We're thinking of doing Destiny for Spiderman but do they have the regular characters? Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy and Pluto? What about shows, back in the day they had some great shows, I assume they still do?
Thanks
Tony

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

We are scheduled to be on the Destiny in June - similar age groups.

We did a ton of comparisons and while no one in the group is a big Marvel fan, on balance it seemed like there was something for everyone. The only thing I’ll flag (and this is preemptively as we don’t know it will be an issue), our date only stops at Lookout Cay @ Lighthouse Point instead of Castaway Cay. There’s some concern about the walk to the beach based on other posts we read, so maybe take that into consideration.

We’re not big cruisers so I’ll let the more experienced folks weigh in.

Have a fun trip whatever you decide!

 

[holula]

Based on your group’s interests I would also say Destiny.

Destiny:

Lion King dinner show
Hercules and Frozen stage shows (along with Seas the Adventure)
Spider-man, Black Panther and Loki as Marvel characters
Cruella, Dr Facilier and Maleficent as villains
All the normal characters like Mickey, Minnie etc and a handful of princesses

I think Bluey might be getting added to the Dream? I think it was the Dream.

My one caveat with the Destiny is that the adult pool area is nowhere near as good as the Magic/Wonder/Dream/Fantasy.

 

[sponica]

We did the Wish for my 40th and my mom's 60th with a 7 and 3 year old in tow.

Port Canaveral was the easier port for all of us to get to (nonstop flight to MCO from my regional airport and my mom/stepdad were driving in from the first part of their vacation in SC).

We enjoyed the Wish and my then 3 year old LOVED having Spiderman run around the Marvel restaurant at the end of dinner. Made her day. My mom and stepdad loved 1923.

 

[disneykins]

Thanks everybody for the replies. We'd love to do the Wish but its only 3 days. We like the characters on the Destiny but it goes to Lighthouse Point, we'd prefer Castaway Cay for nostalgic reasons (our kids loved it when they were littles). How do they do the character meet and greets? Are there long lines? Are there Lightning Lanes?
I guess our 3 options are Destiny, Treasure and for 5 days Fantasy.
Thanks again.
Tony

 

[sponica]

Thanks everybody for the replies. We'd love to do the Wish but its only 3 days. We like the characters on the Destiny but it goes to Lighthouse Point, we'd prefer Castaway Cay for nostalgic reasons (our kids loved it when they were littles). How do they do the character meet and greets? Are there long lines? Are there Lightning Lanes?
I guess our 3 options are Destiny, Treasure and for 5 days Fantasy.
Thanks again.
Tony

I really enjoyed the Treasure and 7 nights gives you time to enjoy things, plus Peter Pan and Captain Hook meet MULTIPLE times, and it's nice to be able to meet Hook outside of pirate night.

The grand Hall is Aladdin themed. There's a piano bar that's Aristocrats themed.

 

[holula]

Thanks everybody for the replies. We'd love to do the Wish but its only 3 days. We like the characters on the Destiny but it goes to Lighthouse Point, we'd prefer Castaway Cay for nostalgic reasons (our kids loved it when they were littles). How do they do the character meet and greets? Are there long lines? Are there Lightning Lanes?
I guess our 3 options are Destiny, Treasure and for 5 days Fantasy.
Thanks again.
Tony

For the villains on the Destiny the lines were LONG. I didn’t find any other line longer than any other ship. I normally get there around 15 mins before the posted time and that normally gets me near the front of the line.

 

[deanimal]

I know you've already sailed on the classic ships, but we did a 3 generation trip on the Wonder when the kids were 2 and 3 and it was perfect for our group. The grandparents loved the classic characters and the beautiful ship and the smaller size was a plus for them. The kids were young enough to just love all the characters and fun shows. We got connecting rooms and the adults took turns hanging out in the room in the evening while the kids slept and going to to the adult areas to relax after bedtime. My mother in law loved the performer in the piano bar and spent time every day there hanging out (and also getting a bit of a break from all the kid centred activities I think!). The only thing I'm not sure about is how much Marvel is on the classic ships. Whatever you choose I'm sure it will be great; DCL seems tailor made for multi generation trips.

 

[Kit Jackson]

How do they do the character meet and greets? Are there long lines? Are there Lightning Lanes?

There is no front of line/special access pass for most of the standard meet and greets. On the Navigator app, they give the location and time of the character meet and greet. The meet and greets happen all over the ship throughout the day. On the Fantasy, it was 15 minute increments. If Mickey is meeting from 3:00-3:15 by the main staircase, anyone who is in line by 3:15 gets to meet Mickey. From 3:15-3:30, a new character would be in the location.

(I was not traveling with children, so this strategy may not work for those with very young ones). I would get in line at 3 or a little after, get my picture taken and get an autograph, then go back in line to meet the next character (letting people who wanted to meet the current character go in front of me).

One of the things I loved about the cruise was getting to meet the characters and get my picture taken with them in all the different outfits. It was like a photo safari. (There were classic outfits, sea outfits, Castaway Cay outfits, formal night, and pirate night.)

 

[tkd lisa]

I wrote up our 4 generation European trip in this forum, if you are interested in the fantasy. We also did the magic and wonder in the early 2000s.