To Land or Not to Land-that is the question

[goofyme]

wanting to go on a four day cruise...definitely not a 7 day at least the first time since this will be a first for our kids.....my question is do you do the three day land bit or not...we have been to disney many times...i always get jealous seeing the people getting on the buses to go to port canaveral...maybe that is the reason i want to do the three day land portion...my wife doesn't believe it is necessary, but i think it puts you in the right frame of mind for the cruise...

any opinions, especially those who have done both ways..

thanks

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

In any case, it's good to fly in at least one day before the cruise. And if you have enough vacation time, you might as well fly in several days early and enjoy WDW or other Orlando area attractions.

I feel sorry for the DCL passengers who have to get up at 4:00 a.m. on departure day, head to the airport, and hope that they won't have to deal with a cancelled flight, a missed connection, or weather problems.

On this board, various people have posted that it can be cheaper if you book the land portion on your own instead of doing a DCL land/sea package. I don't have personal experience in this regard.

 

[vicnmickey]

We booked the 7 night land/sea for two reasons. We wanted to go back to the parks and we have never sailed before. So we thought we could get a taste of both. And if we love the cruise I am planning on booking a 7 day while we are out. We opted to book directly threw DCL for the package. I guess it was more convinent and when I did price out seprately it wasn't that much of a difference. We are doing air on our own and flying in the night before our land portion starts. We are planning on staying at the Hyatt. This will give us a full first day instead of a half day. Disney also offers a Animal Kingdom pickup on your last day before you go off to the cruise. Hope this helps, just my two cents.

 

[Mskanga]

We did the 4 day land 3 day sea cruise all in one package and from my own experience let me tell you that I wish I had booked the 7 day all sea package, this is what we are going to do next year and maybe depending on finances we will add a couple of days at the parks either before or after the cruise.

 

[sbasowski]

We just returned from 10 days at Disney and I"m not a bit disappointed with anything. We arrived on May 12 for a four night stay at the Port Orleans Riverside then headed to the cruise on the 16th. We paid around 2K with transfers for my husband and I included. Let me tell you, Disney does it right! The buses were comfortable and we didnt' touch our luggage until we departed the ship! I think it was nice to do the parks pre cruise and then have a relaxing time on the ship! We'll definately be going back...possibly for a 7 day and a couple in the parks. I'd definately not go to the parks after...why be completely relaxed then do the hustle and bustle of the parks!