lauk4kicks
^been considering a Disney cruise.
Definitely $$$$, but any tips on booking?
How many days is good number?
It was definitely expensive and we still had to fly in, arrange transport, hotel stays, etc.
TBH my wife and her sister handled all the organization, they are very good at researching/comparing costs, etc. I usually organize day to day plans, where we eat, transport through a city, etc. But for a cruise, its very relaxed. Wake up as you please, breakfast, figure out what you want to do for the day, etc, unless you have a person in the party that insists everyone has to do ABC things together and is not flexible lol.
On youtube, there are lots ore reviews, tips, and tours of different ships that you view. A lot of the videos are by travel agencies who specialize in Disney vacations. We used a travel agency that specialized in Disney. The agent was able to provide lots of helpful information and answer any questions we had. The agent also went on her own Disney vacation too, so she knows what to expect first hand.
edit: The travel agents price was the same as if we were to book through Disney ourselves. I believe the only difference is that they get a commission from the sale (but no difference to us). The travel agent also offered an onboard credit for us (which apparently just comes out of her commission), so that was the added incentive for us to book with a travel agent.
You can also check out facebook groups, look up Disney Cruise Line or the ship name and something should pop up. Many people will post their experiences if they just sailed or ask questions about upcoming cruises, etc.
For us, 7 days was good. It was the kids first cruise, so it provided them time to get well adjusted to things and then have some days where they were really comfortable. It was a semi gamble, cause the first day was really rocky and I didn't know my daughter was really sensitive to motion sickness. She was screaming she wanted to go home on the first night at sea cause she felt so sick. She got through it and once the ship was more stable or she got adjust, she was pretty good the rest of the week. So, if you haven't cruised before, maybe you'd consider a shorter cruise.
Things I would consider when choosing a duration for a cruise:
-If its the first time cruising - maybe shorter cruise to test the waters (no pun intended)
-If you cruised before - shorter or longer depending on cruise exp
-How close you live to port - we had to fly in, so 7 days was good or if we did a shorter cruise then we'd fill the rest of the week with park visits. The port was out of Orlando so I wanted to fly in a few days early to hit up the parks, but wife thought it would be too chaotic. Maybe if you live close ish, a shorter one would do. I know that many people who live near ports just hop on cruises for the weekend sometimes for 3-4 days.
-Some people don't like being idea of being on a ship for 1-2 days just at sea. They prefer to able to visit different ports each day, so you'd have to consider the itinerary as well. I was just looking forward to not needing to clean and cook for week and just relax lol. I was not interested in excursions at ports personally.
Here is my cruise experience post in the Disney thread:
https://niketalk.com/threads/disney...disney-spirit-jersey-now.623946/post-37150485
Its a long read.
I will admit that we splurged, as we were thinking of going to Disney world in 2 years time initially (more time to save and maybe better exp when kids are older), but:
-First real family vacation since before covid
-We had a pretty big group going: both sets of grandparents for my kids, sis in law and her family, so our kids got to hang out with each other
-Might be our only Disney experience, but I keep telling my wife we have to go to the parks too at least once while the kids still believe in Disney magic.
-I haven't been to the parks in 20 years, so I don't know how it compares between cruise and the parks, but everything was really well done on the cruise. I especially really enjoyed the character interactions. You can talk to the characters and they will carry a short conversation with you which is really cool. They are trained and perform well in character; its almost like interacting with a NPC in a video game with the way the respond. They will answer your questions or ask you a question, but are able to keep that elegant princess way of speaking, really amazing lol. You also get multiple opportunities to see the characters throughout the week, where maybe at the park you see a character once and then you are off to the next attraction for the day (unless you are going multiple times during your vacation).
Hope that helps! Sorry this post kinda ended up being really long. Feel free to ask any other questions.
idk about anyone else but i’ve never come back from a big family vacation feeling well rested. my wife does some planning
I know this feeling lol, it was stressful leading up to the vacation and getting there and then on the way back. During the cruise we could relax.
Your family is lucky to have that support from you! I like efficiency and don't like to waste time deciding what to do (at least have options picked out and choose vs leaving it completely open ended). I always like leaving with extra time and being able to have some breathing space but wife always like to leave with the "suggested google map" time. "We only need to leave 2 hours before flight time" and lo and behold something comes up and cuts our time shorter or we didn't accommodate enough time to have proper breakfast meals, etc and ended up only eating in the late afternoon...
