Totally clueless about cruises.... HELP!

[cokegal19]

Ok, I've never been on a cruise before, nor do I know anything about them, what to bring...etc... Me, my husband and 2 y/o DS are planning on going on the Disney cruise next year. We want to do the 3 land/4 sea cruise. Neither of us have been on a cruise, so I have a few questions:

How much $$ do we need to bring?

Is the price on the website including the hotel stay and the park tickets? If so, what type of tickets do you get, and what type of hotel room do you get?

Will there be stuff for my (at that time) 3 year old to do? And if so, does it cost extra?

What kind of stuff is there to do at Castaway Cay? Is it inhabited by people, or is it abandoned until the cruise ship gets there?

While your on Castaway Cay and Nassau, can you go back to the cruise ship and eat lunch or dinner? Can you just hang out at the ship? (Not that you'd really want to, but just in case!!

How do you get to Port Canaveral from Orlando? How far away is it?

Are there Disney characters on the ship? (Mickey, Pooh, Goofy....)

What's the difference from a Navagators Verandah, and a regular verandah?


If anyone can help me with any of these questions, I'd appreciate it. Thanks so much!

I can't wait to go!!!

 

[3 things]

1. I don't know all the answers to your questions, but here are a few... (I'm sure the board more than answer the rest...)


2. How much money to bring on board. You need very little money on board. I don't think we had $100 - everything on board can be charged to your account.
3. Castaway Cay is pretty empty when there is no ship there... It's not like there's a town on it.
4. Absolutely you can go back on the ship when at a port. My wife and I did it at every port - and we actually enjoyed being on the ship while everyone else was away. Quiet at the pool. Even more relaxing. And having lunch while everyone else was gone - very nice too.
5. We took the bus option from the airport. Made it easy. Everyone on the bus was excited to be going on the cruise. When you see the cruise ship with everyone else, it's exciting. Even the video about the upcoming cruise was exciting. (I'm not sure we'll do the bus for the next cruise in '05, but for the first time we loved it!)
6. Yes there are characters on the ship. Very cool to literally bump into Mickey as you round a corner or watch the kids get excited when the are signing books etc.

PS - My wife is from Racine - just up the road... ENJOY your first cruise!!!

 

[cokegal19]

Thanks for the response!

I really can't wait!!! It stinks that I still got a whole 365 days left, at least!!!!

Is there much to buy on the different Islands?

What about the spas that I've read about? Do you pay extra for those? How much extra? What do they consist of?

How do you book a cruise vacation? Can you do it through Dreams unlimited? Can I talk to them on the phone and ask them questions?

And tipping...... I guess I didn't realize I needed to tip! (shows how clueless I really am about this cruise stuff)

How much do i need to bring for tips, and who do i tip, and how do i know who to tip?

TOTAL, how much would you say we need to bring for spending money... (drinks, spa stuff, tips, souviners on boat and on islands.....)

And do you know about the disney world stuff? what type of room would i stay in if i chose to stay at the animal kingdom lodge? and what type of tickets do you get? and does the price include this?


Your wife is from Racine??? That's awesome!!!! Does she still live there????

 

[3 things]

If you have 365 days you have PLENTY of time to learn this stuff by reading the boards. There are great summaries about tipping and stuff on here. (and I think the tipping guidelines are in everything Disney puts out in print or online - you can handle the tipping at the front desk)

We spent a couple hundred dollars in souvenirs and Palo's (do NOT miss the opportunity to eat at the Palo's-type restaurant - it costs a few extra dollars, but everyone agrees that it is WELL worth it! you make that reservation as soon as you get on board - you can't do it ahead of time) Plus the tips which we just followed the guidelines so I don't remember how much that was per day per person... (We were on a 7-day cruise)

We spent virtually nothing at the ports. We were there for the cruise and the experience, not to buy stuff. But obviously lots of other people came back with all sorts of things. It's a personal call how much you spend and on what...

My wife and I use the 'net for buying lots of things, but one thing we used a real person for was arranging the cruise. We used our local AAA travel agent and had a GREAT experience. I'm sure there are great online services and great travel agencies, but this AAA person has been GREAT in providing service and finding great rates. (We have an upcoming 7-day Alaskan cruise in July and she found better prices than I could find anywhere else...)

(Plus AAA has a deal that gives you unlimited cokes on the cruise ship which we both used a lot... Cokes are free at meals, but in between cost money...)

Our next cruise is the Eastern 7-day cruise on April 30, 2005. Sounds like we'll be almost on the same cruise...

PS - My wife grew up in Racine. Her mother lived there (actually just west of Kenosha in Prarie something...) until she passed away in '01.

 

[3 things]

PS again...

We didn't do anything from the spa this past trip. Are we cheap midwesterners or what!?! The idea of doing the massage on the beach sounded GREAT, but the price seemed steep - and you have to sign up for those QUICKLY! There is a rainforest room or something that I heard lots of great things about. Cheap and relaxing. Warmed tiles, great showers, just a cool place...

Sorry I can't be more helpful...

 

[Mysticalbeauty3]

just thought i could add my knowledge in on the 3 day land/ 4day sea we have done this quite a few times...we have only stayed at the poly though....but i recently read that a family who stayed at the AKL and did the days at sea got rooms with views of the animals! so thats good im guessing lol.....and for 3 year olds....i think thats still in flounders so they get alot of one on one attention...rather than in the older groups with a bunch of kids...but i may be wrong i have a 5 month old coming with us in 26 days! lol...but def. take the bus with your DS because its like amazing when you can see the ship from miles away....you get the ultimate park hopper pass...so you can go to any park including water parks and pleasure island and even disney quest....which is really neat. but any more questions just throw them this way and ill try and see if i can help

 

[rsjj]

How much $$ do we need to bring?

just enough for tips (small tips, like room service, taxi/shuttle, porters, etc.), not the tips for the ship's servers. those can be charged on your credit card (your shipboard account, if you choose)



Is the price on the website including the hotel stay and the park tickets? If so, what type of tickets do you get, and what type of hotel room do you get?

never done that so couldn't help you there.


Will there be stuff for my (at that time) 3 year old to do? And if so, does it cost extra?

yes, there's a club that your 3 yo can go to, if he/she's potty trained. it's not extra. included in the price! fun place for them! my 4 yo loved the oceaneer's club! if not potty trained, your child can go there, with you, and play around. there's also flounder's reef, that children can go to 3 & under without potty training...that you'd have to pay for. $6 and hour, with 2 hours minimum.


What kind of stuff is there to do at Castaway Cay? Is it inhabited by people, or is it abandoned until the cruise ship gets there?

it's a beach! bring sand toys, or they sell them there, for quite a bit. there's water type activities, like snorkeling, boat renting, parasailing, etc. if your 3 yo is in the club, they have a club on the beach that they can go to, for activities. i think only people who does the "upkeep" of the island lives there, not "regular" people. it's a private island owned by disney.


While your on Castaway Cay and Nassau, can you go back to the cruise ship and eat lunch or dinner? Can you just hang out at the ship? (Not that you'd really want to, but just in case!!

you can go back on the ship whenever you want! you can even bring food out to the islands/port & have picnic...anything you like!


How do you get to Port Canaveral from Orlando? How far away is it?

port canaveral is around an hour away from orlando. you can get disney transfers, or get your own limo/auto service.


Are there Disney characters on the ship? (Mickey, Pooh, Goofy....)

yes! plenty! no pooh, though...my boys (4 & 2) loved seeing the characters! and they all wear different outfits for the different days!


What's the difference from a Navagators Verandah, and a regular verandah?

navagator's verandah, it's semi enclosed, and regular verandah is open. i think that's the difference. oh, and navagator's verandah sleeps only 3, and the regular one sleeps 4. maybe someone else can clarify?

i hope i've helped. you'd get lots of info off here! it's amazing! you've got plenty of time, just ask away! any questions i had, i couldn't wait to post it here, b/c i knew someone here would know!

planning & getting info is half the fun!

 

[hydster]

Welcome to the boards and the pretty addicting world of cruising! With a year before you go you will have plenty of time to learn and ask questions but here are some of the answers to the questions you asked:

How much $$ do we need to bring?

Well for the ship theoretically you dont need a dime just a credit card to use as your Key To The World Charge. The ship is no cash meaning you charge everything. You can bring cash and pay it on your shipboard account but you don't use a penny on the ship. Now for Disneyworld you are on your own for meals so you can either bring cash for that or charge that as well. When you check into your hotel they will take your credit card and give you a KTTW card. THat is your room key, charge key, Ship stateroom key, ship charging key and pretty much the everything key! We figure for our family of 5 to plan on about $150-175 a day but we do drink alcohol and buy lots of souveniers.

Is the price on the website including the hotel stay and the park tickets? If so, what type of tickets do you get, and what type of hotel room do you get?

If you purchase the land/sea yes the price includes your hotel stay, your Ultimate Park Hopper passes good only for the land days of your trip and the cruise fare. It does not include *unless you add them* transfers, airfare, gratuities on the ship, WDW meals or any incidentals like souveniers or pictures. We stayed in a Cat 4 stateroom which held the 5 of us in 1 room so we had a room at the Polynesian. Depending on what category of room you get will determine where you will stay on Disney Property. I believe it is either Port Orleans Riverside, Beach Club, Grand Floridian, Polynesian, AKL and maybe 1 more. Obviously the more money you spend on a stateroom will take you from maybe the POR to the Grand Floridian. For a family of 3 you can stay in pretty much any category from a 12 to a 1. Our room at the Poly was just a regular hotel type room if that helps.

Will there be stuff for my (at that time) 3 year old to do? And if so, does it cost extra

There is plenty for your 3 year old to do on the cruise. He is old enough to go into the Oceaneer's Club which does NOT cost any extra. There are swimming pools, movies, theatre shows, food, characters and a million other things for him to do on board that do not cost any extra for being 3. The only thing is he would have to be potty trained in order to use the club and they do NOT allow pullups in the club except at night when they might fall asleep (or so I've heard). He also would need to be potty trained to use the pools although if he isn't one of the Mickey ears is designated for toddlers who are not potty trained and you cannot use a swim diaper to pass him off as potty trained either (or that is what I've heard it isnt an issue for us).

What kind of stuff is there to do at Castaway Cay? Is it inhabited by people, or is it abandoned until the cruise ship gets there?

On Castaway Cay there is a beautiful beach, sailboats, snorkeling, bike riding and the kids club is there also. The island is only inhabited by people who work for Disney and only a handful of them. There is a full buffet lunch on the island, an adults only beach, cabana massages (for extra cost) and hammocks and beach chairs for free. There is a tram that will take you from the ship to the family beach for free. The characters are out with you on the beach and the kids can play with them. There is tons of sand to make sand castles...it's a lot of fun (at least for a few hours).

While your on Castaway Cay and Nassau, can you go back to the cruise ship and eat lunch or dinner? Can you just hang out at the ship? (Not that you'd really want to, but just in case!!

The only time you HAVE to get off the ship is the morning you arrive back at the port. You could stay on and NEVER EVER get off even at CC if you wanted to. The ships pools are open I think in every port and they do serve food even on CC on the ship (I heard that on the Travel Channel recently).

How do you get to Port Canaveral from Orlando? How far away is it?

There are several ways to get to the port. You can buy transfers from Disney for I think 70 dollars per person round trip. You can get a private car service which I think at 3 people becomes the cut off of being cheaper than DCL transfers or you can rent a car. The DCL busses will pick you up at your land hotel at a designated time and take you to the terminal. The problem with the transfers is you go when Disney says you go not when you want to go. It is a nice stress free way to go if you've never done anything like this before. The port is about an hour away from Orlando.

Are there Disney characters on the ship? (Mickey, Pooh, Goofy....)

Yep Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto, Goofy, Belle, Cinderella are the ones I can think of off the top of my head. They do character pictures at certain times listed in the Navigator you get in your stateroom each night.

What's the difference from a Navagators Verandah, and a regular verandah?

Navigator Verandah is more enclosed and does not have a see through railing where a regular verandah has plexiglass (clear) on the railings and is not as enclosed. For pictures and a ton of things about the ship go to
www.castawayclub.com It is hosted and updated by inkkognito here on the board and it has a WEALTH of information on it. It has menu's pictures of different staterooms, the kids club navigators..just to give you an idea of everything! Its a great site!

Hope this has helped!
Heidi

 

[clh2]

There were many characters on board...Captain Hook, Peter Pan,Wendy Darling, Snow White, the Queen of Hearts, 2 of the 101 dalmations, Cinderella, Prince Charming, Princess Aurora, Belle, Goofy, Pluto, Minnie, Mickey, Donald & Daisy Duck, Chip N Dale, Mulan are the ones I can remember.

Some people find that if they purchase the land and sea parts of their vacation separately - that it ends up costing less money. Plus - you will be able to choose exactly which accomodations for the land and the sea that you want. We went with a cat 10 on the ship, but we wanted a "higher" level hotel. We stayed at the Swan - it was fabulous. (Although - many people don't care for the Swan because it is much less "Disney" than the actual Disney Hotels. For us - it was PERFECT!)

 

[crisi]

One thing to be aware of - your son must be three and POTTY TRAINED to be left in the kids clubs without you. We delayed our cruise until my DD was four, because she didn't show great signs of training early and we wanted to use the cruise for a little adult time as well as family time. Potty trained is also important for using the pools.