Way to combine land/sea?

CrankyDad

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jul 17, 2017
Messages
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We are long time WDW visitors. We go Jan every year. Thinking for 2019 we I would surprise the wife with a 3 night cruise and then do 4 nights at a mod

Being a cruise novice, I only see the ability to book cruise alone. So I would book my sea then my land,correct?

Does Disney provide their version of Magic Express to get me from the port to Disney world?

One more (sorry!). Anyone suggest say doing the land then sea or does the order not matter.

Wait, lied.. one more.. Any specific to go 4 nights over 3? I figured 3 as that would be a good way to dip our toes into cruising,,

Thanks all!
 
We are long time WDW visitors. We go Jan every year. Thinking for 2019 we I would surprise the wife with a 3 night cruise and then do 4 nights at a mod

Being a cruise novice, I only see the ability to book cruise alone. So I would book my sea then my land,correct?

Does Disney provide their version of Magic Express to get me from the port to Disney world?

One more (sorry!). Anyone suggest say doing the land then sea or does the order not matter.

Wait, lied.. one more.. Any specific to go 4 nights over 3? I figured 3 as that would be a good way to dip our toes into cruising,,

Thanks all!
  • You can book a resort stay at the same time you book your cruise (if it isn't too far in advance for the resort rates to be out yet), but you can only do this over the phone, and you wouldn't be able to get any resort discounts this way. I recommend booking them separately to be able to take advantage of discounts.
  • Disney Cruise Line has a transfer bus you can use, but it costs $35 per person each way.
  • People have different opinions on whether to cruise or visit parks first. I'd rather cruise first, & be able to look forward to the parks on disembarkation day, when everyone else is depressed & headed for the airport.
  • A 3-night cruise is a good intro to cruising. 4-nights is even better, but also more expensive. We've done two 3-night cruises and loved them.
 
You would have to book them as two separate vacations.

There is a port to WDW shuttle - $35/person one way.

I have not combined, but I'd probably prefer land first to chill on the cruise. I'm looking at one night after my next one so I don't have to crash back to reality so soon.

I am always a more is better kind of person. The 3 night is really more like 2.5 days if that. A 4 night felt rushed last year after doing a couple of 7 nights, so I cannot imagine going back to a 3 night.
 

You actually can book resort days via DCL by calling and adding days before and/or after.

But it is a separate reservation. Not a "land and sea" like other lines have "cruise tours".
 
No, the resort days are part of your DCL reservation. It all shows up on your DCL itinerary.

Huh. They must have changed that recently. A couple of years ago they were separate. Isn't it still rack rate though? For any discounts you're better booking on your own.
 
It is rather confusing. I’m leaving in 10 days and my land/sea/land trip was not working with DCL/WDW help. Not all their fault though.

Set your cruise first.
•Do you want Beach ports? Get a Castaway Cay day.
•Make sure you get a day “at sea”.
•Do you wish your visits to be more cultural? Than pick an island other than Freeport or (can’t remember the name of other close island Nassau??)

Then wait for the sale dates offered for Disney(you must know them by now) and tell WDW how you want your land and sea combined. (It might not happen)
 
Huh. They must have changed that recently. A couple of years ago they were separate. Isn't it still rack rate though? For any discounts you're better booking on your own.
Yes. I recommended to the OP that he book the resort separately.
 
We have done what you call Land/Sea twice but we are DVC members and it’s definitely separate reservations. We usually do the resort first and then the cruise. The cruise is your chil time after the parks. We have also done WDW, A couple days a Disney’s Vero Beach and then a 3 night cruise now that was a fun 10 days.

One time we used the Magical Express to get the port. The other times we had a rental car.

We really love DCL and really enjoy combining the two types of vacations together.
 
You would have to book them as two separate vacations.

There is a port to WDW shuttle - $35/person one way.

I have not combined, but I'd probably prefer land first to chill on the cruise. I'm looking at one night after my next one so I don't have to crash back to reality so soon.

I am always a more is better kind of person. The 3 night is really more like 2.5 days if that. A 4 night felt rushed last year after doing a couple of 7 nights, so I cannot imagine going back to a 3 night.




^^^

This exactly.

I cannot stress enough: book them separately. Book DCL. Book WDW separately from DCL. If using a TA, well, let them do it however works for them, since they're the ones that has to handle it, unless you're using Costco, then they'll have you booking separately anyway. Disney's systems do not play nicely together. I once had DCL book my night before cruise room at WDW. I tried to link it to MDE so I can get MBs. WDW insists it was my DCL confirmation #, but it wasn't. WDW said they can't access my room reservation because DCL was considered my TA. DCL couldn't access WDW's rooms because it's their own reservation system and inventory. Biggest pain in the rear ever.

I've done the combo trip and did the parks after the cruise. It wasn't the way I would've wanted it, but it ended up working out perfectly. Going to WDW was a great way to ease back into the real world. It didn't feel like going from being taken care of to having to do dishes the same night. Short cruises like the 3 and 4 nights feel like they end very abruptly. Going to WDW helped with that "coming back down from a high" feeling.
 
We did a 4 night as our first family cruise and it was a pretty good intro to cruising. We had a port day, an at sea day, and a castaway cay day (which I guess is also technically a port day).

On the 3 day you wouldn’t have the sea day, which I loved on our cruise. The rest of the days felt so much more rushed. But that day we didn’t have anywhere to be and just enjoyed the ship.
 
I also opt for a 4 day over a 3 day cruise. If 3 night is all you can do, then do it...but if you can swing the 4 night...much better!!!

MJ
 
We've done this twice, with a few days of WDW on both sides of the cruise. It's nice to have park days after the cruise - that last morning everyone looks so sad that the cruise is over but we have WDW to look forward to and that helps. Both times I booked it separately and we had no issues. I didn't see a need to have it all linked up in any event. Our first was a 3 night but I really preferred the 4 night we took. Happy planning!
 
DCL used to offer land and sea packages but your hotel was determined by the stateroom you chose for your cruise. In other words, if you wanted to stay at the Grand Floridian you had to book a suite. Um, no thanks, I'd rather make my own arrangements.

We've stayed at WDW both before and after a cruise, and either option is great. If you're flying into Orlando for a cruise, it's nice to have at least a day in Orlando at the beginning of your vacation if your flight is delayed or canceled by a storm in New York in January.

After our cruise we stayed at a WDW hotel with a cafeteria-style restaurant and DGS, who was 8 at the time, didn't understand why we had to pay for each item of food we wanted.
 
Our first cruise was a land/sea package that DCL used to offer. I think we did 4 days WDW and then 3 days on DCL. We felt the 3 day cruise was the perfect way to try it out. Granted it was short, because we loved it. 3 days can feel pretty long if you do not... Good luck with your planning!
 
We have done 3 and 4 night, but for us the 3-night felt rushed and we felt we missed a lot of time to explore the ship and relax.

As for hooking a WDW visit to your cruise, we never book through DCL or packages through WDW anymore. We have found it cheaper to get the WDW room with our AAA discount, and buy our tickets at Undercover Tourist. Now there are times, however, that WDW offers specials that may be worth the package deal, but you'd have to compare what pricing works for you.

The Magic Express bus to and from WDW is free, but the cruise bus to and from WDW or the airport costs $35/pp each way.

Happy planning.
 

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