Which order do you think is better?

[kirstyfly]

Looking into a possible Disney cruise 5 Nights Bahamian Cruise from Port Canaveral September 2025 and a WDW trip.

Will be flying from New Zealand so a long international flight.

Which order do you think would be best?

cruise first ( allowing to adjust for time difference and possible jet lag), then have energy for WDW parks or Parks first then cruise after to relax?

I'm thinking a cruise first could be a good idea as there won't be so much up and go needed possibly? but it's hard to say as I know our first Disney cruise at sea in Auckland last year was full on and it was only 3 days and a lot of late night activities.

If we do WDW parks first we could have couple of down days to begin with at the hotel.

Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

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[happycamper47]

I'd cruise first since you have control over how late you participate and you have time to adjust. Whereas with the parks the hours vary and can even change day to day. As an example this year Sept first MK was open until 10 pm one day and then 6 pm the next and that was pretty much consistent. I sent you a message.

 

[RedHead0186]

I'd do cruise first. Though since you have such a long flight, you might want to consider looking at flight prices based on what day you'd fly in if you do cruise first vs. parks first (maybe you've already thought of that).

 

[mjkacmom]

We did 5 nights at WDW and then a 3 night cruise. It was nice to relax after running around like crazy. If you do the cruise first you’re going to want a hotel first, so more repacking.

 

[Stitch'sCousin]

I would go for a couple of down days after your flight, then the parks, and end with the cruise. Out of all of our cruises, we have only done a cruise first followed by park days once. On that trip, we found that we didn’t relax as much on the cruise as we normally did as . By the time we finished the parks after the cruise, we were definitely worn out and probably could have used a vacation from our vacation!

 

[JoeFromSeoul]

I fly in from Korea, so shorter trip than yours, but still significant jet lag. I try to fly in at least a week before the cruise, but that isn’t always practical.

Personally, I prefer the hectic parks before the more relaxing cruise. The energy in the parks will often counter the jet lag…though it does lead to a hard crash at the end of the day.

 

[holula]

I fly from the UK, so not as long as your flight, and I prefer the parks first. I’m also less worried about missing a day off the parks if something goes wrong with the flight, vs missing the cruise altogether.

I think the cruise is an amazing chill out after the parks which is why I prefer it this way. (I’ve done both.)

 

[AgentMama]

We've done both orders and prefer parks first then cruise. For us, we like to hit the ground running after long flights to help with jetlag. We find we get a better first night's sleep.

 

[AquaDame]

Most prefer the cruise at the end to relax. We are the opposite - I like to cruise first then go to the parks when my husband is more relaxed. Heading from his stressful work to a stressful park doesnt work for him. He deals with the bustle way better once he has gone into vacation mode!

I also dislike trying to find something to do while waiting for our flight which is usually later on. We can’t make the morning one so it’s usually 4-5pm. I prefer just playing at the park until it’s time to go.

 

[DCLMP]

Cruise first to relax and recover from jet lag, then you'll be ready to tackle WDW. Our time difference is only three hours and I have a hard time getting up early the first few days in Florida. We always cruise first.

 

[John VN]

DW and I prefer the P-C-P sandwich itinerary. Parks-Cruise-Parks.

 

[DCLMP]

DW and I prefer the P-C-P sandwich itinerary. Parks-Cruise-Parks.

Do you fly for 16 hours to get to WDW though?

 

[European]

Definitely parks first. Lots of walking, but also hectic as the parks have become busy all the time now. Cruise afterwards to relax.