hencoll

Yes Downtown Disney can get crowded and parking can be a challenge but none of that will affect the OP- she will be taking the NCL transportation to the Disney ticketing center and then boarding a free Disney bus to Downtown Disney. Once there, they are free to stroll around and take it all in or as another poster suggested, they can even treat the little ones to Bibidi Bobidi Boutique- or as mine like to call it "Princess Beauty Parlor" where fairy godmothers will do their hair and paint their nails and make them into a magical princess for the day. It can be a bit pricey (depending on what package you select) but it is truly magical to see their faces and create truly lasting memories. They can then spend the rest of their afternoon looking like a princess and then meeting Cinderella. Once at the Grand Floridian for dinner they even get take a ride on the monorail to return to the ticket and transportation center for the NCL bus back to port. If they are anything like my kids, they will have had all the magic of Disney without most of the stresses. Just remember to make reservations for dinner and have a Magical day.

Exactly! It will be a nice day for the OP and her children.

The Op can make her dining reservation and her BB Boutique reservation at 180 days out. With it being Easter week, I would suggest that you make the reservations on that day exactly.

But I'll need a one day ticket to go dinner with the characters?

No you will not need a park ticket for the Character dinner because it is at one of the Walt Disney World resort hotels. The Cinderella's Happily Ever After Dinner is at 1900 Park Fare which is in the Grand Floridian Hotel. You will be able to take a Disney bus directly to the hotel from Downtown Disney. After dinner you can take monorail to the Ticket and Transportation Center which is where I believe the NCL bus does their pick up. Hopefully, you will have time to explore the hotel because it is absolutely beautiful. :)

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/grand-floridian-resort-and-spa/1900-park-fare/

Hi,

You give me a excellent idea.

Do I need a ticket to go to Downtown Disney using the free Disney Bus? If so It's the same of the park? or I need a special ticket?

lcantw3658's idea is excellent. You will not need a ticket for Downtown Disney or Disney transportation. For a special treat for your daughter you could make a Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique appointment for a princess makeover before heading over to the Grand Floridian for the Cinderella and Friends dinner.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/downtown-disney/bibbidi-bobbidi-boutique-downtown/

To me it looks like the Jewel or at least one of the Jewel class ships.

I think you should be fine. The only times I recall DCL at capacity is Christmas Day, New Years, Easter and July 4th and it's usually just Magic Kingdom. This is what I found regarding "at capacity" park closures.

Phase 1 Closure

 

Casual visitors are turned away at the automobile toll plazas. This means that people without tickets, those with one-day, single-park tickets, and those intending to use cast member passes will not be allowed to park.

 

Other guests may enter:

 

Those with multi-day or multi-park tickets

Those staying at a Disney Resort

Annual Passholders

Those re-entering the park that day.

Those "hopping" from another park.

Those with in-park reservations or appointments.

Those arriving via Disney transportation

 

Phase 2 Closure

 

The following guests are allowed through the turnstiles and into the parking lots:

 

Those staying at a Disney Resort

Annual Passholders

Those re-entering the park that day.

Those "hopping" from another park.

Those with in-park reservations or appointments.

Those arriving via Disney transportation

 

Phase 3 Closure

 

The following guests are allowed through the turnstiles and into the parking lots:

 

Those staying at a Disney Resort

Annual Passholders

Those with in-park reservations or appointments.

 

Phase 4 Closure

 

The park and parking lot are closed to all arriving guests.

I'm not sure if Disney considers FP+ an in park reservation/appointment. If they do, you should have no issue getting into the parks. You could make an in park dining reservation to play it safe.

Sounds like a great plan. The only thing you may have an issue with is meeting the characters. Almost all of the Character meet and greets are FP+ attractions now and if offered regular standby lines can really eat up your park time. Either way you will have a very fun day.:)

In 2013, we did DL Paris as a day trip and we just went into it knowing we would not be able do everything. We had a few "must see" attractions and spent the rest of our day enjoying the parks.

We are also huge fans of WDW and we go every other year. The times we went on the Bahamas/Florida cruise, we didn't even get off the ship. We enjoyed the day by the pool where there were very few people and the kids had a blast. But if it was my only chance to see WDW, I would go with purchasing the ticket on my own and just utilizing NCL's transportation.

That's exactly what we are planning to do, enjoy the ship and pools.

I love Disney and I don't want to be a debbie downer but we did this excursion last year and it wasn't worth it. By the time you get inside the park you have maybe about 5-6 hours to enjoy it before you have to make your way back to the port again. IMO, during the time of year you're traveling, that's not enough time at all especially if you've never been there before. I don't think you'll be able to utilize Fastpass+ in advance because you won't get your ticket until you board the bus. If you wish to use it, buy tickets somewhere else, and just book the transportation to the park through NCL.

 

If you're set on going go to http://www.wdwinfo.com or http://www.allears.net They are head & shoulders above the Disney World site with all of the information that is available. http://www.easywdw.com is great too because they have a crowd calendar and touring plans for the park which may be helpful to you.

I have to agree with the post above. We are big WDW fans and visit at least once a year. We are on the Breakaway cruise the week before you and I'm not planning to set foot in any of the theme parks. Both of our weeks fall during prime Spring Break season. The parks will be packed... wall to wall people. Not enjoyable at all especially if it's your first visit.

As others stated the only way to make it worthwhile would be if you can get your ticket in advance and make your 3 FP+ options ahead of time. At least that will guarantee you 3 attractions. Maybe consider booking a character meal at the 180 day mark to avoid wasting time standing in the long character lines.

I stayed in the same cabin. It is on the same floor as the Haven Epic restaruant, grill, and pool area. It is just around the corner. Not true it is the furtherest away from anything Haven related. Maybe if it was the 17th deck you could say that.

I agree about 16001, we've stayed in it twice as a family of 5 but the OP is asking about 17001.

I like the following. Most are Disney related but they do have a basic countdown without images that I use in my signature. :)

http://mickeypath.com/

Enjoyed your well written review. Gorgeous pictures. Made us even more excited about our upcoming winter break Getaway cruise.

Sorry' date=' but speculation and guessing has no part here. The point of the boards is CORRECT information--at least correct at the time the poster cruised. Sometimes it helps to note when that was and/or which ship it was.

 

Some people here DO brag and when you call them on it they suddenly insist that once they even slummed in an inside cabin. Funny how that isn't mentioned until you call them on "always" cruising in suites.

 

Some of us have cruised with many celebrities (usually on the special cruises)...some feel the need to drop names, others find it more appropriate to preserve a fellow guest's privacy.''

 

People who indulge in speculation and bragging are making targets of themselves. Same for people who post mis-information...."adults can't sleep on bunks." Per DCL, anyone who weighs less than 220 pounds can sleep on a top bunk. You make a wrong statement, you'll get corrected....whether that wrong statement was made in ignorance or out of some odd need to post regardless of accuracy.

 

I do realize that we don't share facial expressions, etc. here and sometimes words come across more harshly than desired. But flat out ugliness has no place here.

 

All just my opinions.[/quote']

 

Excellent post that sums up the feelings of many on this board and on another Disney cruise related board.

RIL is an excellent choice. They seem to have the process down to a science. The drivers we've had in the through them as well as the licensed tour guides they have reserved for our tours have been fabulous. Let them know the age of your children and don't hesitate to request a family friendly driver/guide.

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Looking forward to following along. FYI, the stateroom photo on your blog is not the Cat. T, it's a photo of the Cat. S. ;)

It would be very tight. Our son slept on the Murphy, and was still asleep when room service delivered morning tea. They had to cut through the bedroom to get to the table. That was on the Dream. In the Magic there was plenty of room to lay out breakfast on the table even with the Murphy still out. That was one thing we really didn't care for at all on the new ships. I'd rather they did away with the soaking tub and offer more floor space in the cabin.

I agree. We've been in 11002 on the Fantasy and 12012 on the Dream. It's very tight with the Murphy and sofa bed out. Midship Ts on the classics have a much better layout.

Yes, this was mentioned yesterday on the Hawaii thread on the Dis. Also, Scott on his Disney Cruise Line Blog posted a possible schedule for two one way Hawaii itineraries. Very cool! :D

But DF claims that there is NO noise from the pool deck' date=' at least none that ever bothered him.

 

Your experience mimics mine--pool noise from moving deck chairs.[/quote']

 

All of our "suite" cruises on DCL were on the Wonder and Magic. And YES, lots and lots and lots of noise.

 

That has my experience as well. We have sailed in 8532 (one of midship Ts) a number of times and we have heard quite a bit of noise from the pool deck above. Lots of running and scraping of chairs.

The geographical distance is important and is a major factor, Russia is vast, St a Petersburg is no where near the conflict all tourist visitors to St Pets are safe at this time. If you going to lob a bomb, distance is important, Turkey is far closer, bombs do not recognise political borders. They don't just stop.

 

Distance is important, so to say it has nothing to do with it is wrong, or if so why did the USA get upset in the last in the Cuba crisis, as it's on the USA doorstep.

 

There are tensions but they will not last too long the stakes are too high for all.

 

 

Sent from my iPad.

Who said anything about bombs? But thanks, I had no idea that bombs don't recognize political borders. :rolleyes: As I said before, distance is not the only factor. If the US feels their citizens are at risk as a result of anti-American sentiment. That could include anything from verbal harassment to physical attacks. They will post a warning against travel in all of Russia.

Since neither of us have a crystal ball, it's all speculation and opinion.

AND....in a penthouse on the Jade, you'd have full access to the Haven, special access to Cagney's, and a butler along with concierge! Not to mention one of my favorite perks on NCL....your own coffee/espresso machine in your room. I've never quite understood why Disney doesn't do this. :confused:

Those machines are amazing. I love that you can do specialty coffees as well as tea. My girls enjoyed frothing their milk to go with the plate of cookies our butler brought them each evening. Love the concierge and butler service on NCL.

Kusadasi Turkey is far closer to Crimea and where the troubles are than St Petersburg. I have been to St Petes and booked for 2015 I can't see them cancelling my Med cruise this year in July which visits Kusadasi or the Baltic next year, unless this deepens a whole lot further. My guess it will be over quite soon.

 

 

Sent from my iPad.

It has nothing to do with geographical distance between Crimea and St. Petersburg. If the U.S. feels their citizens are unsafe traveling in Russia because of the tensions between our two nations...a State Department warning will be posted advising against travel in all of Russia. Not just the areas near the conflict. DCL has shown that they will drop ports if they feel their passengers are at risk.

 

 

Looks like another example of the person on the phone not knowing the real answer.

It's odd that a DCL phone rep didn't know because it's one of the first things they tell you when booking a suite.

Nothing to do with booking date:

 

Per the site: "Days prior to Vacation Commencement Date"

 

So 45 days or less prior to cruise you can cancel Concierge or suite and get everything back. 75 days for non C/S.

 

The point is C/S is NOT nonrefundable. All deposits are until at least 75 days out.

No. They are non-refundable. The following is c/pd from my reservation for my upcoming cruise in a concierge suite:

Onboard Booking: Includes a non-refundable, non-transferable stateroom onboard credit.

Deposits for Suites/Concierge Non-Refundable: The required per Guest deposit for Suites/Concierge staterooms is non-refundable and non-transferrable (irrespective of purchase of travel insurance). Note: Travel insurance policies vary and may require full payment for coverage to begin. Please consult your policy certificate for details.

As the previous poster said, call them. It's one of the first things they will tell you when booking concierge.

According to the website, they actually have better terms (unless the cabin is marked Restricted due to fare class) - Looks like they can cancel 46 days out and still get deposit back

 

"

 

45 days or moreDeposit per Guest for Suites/Concierge rooms 74-45 daysDeposit per Guest for Non-Suites/Concierge staterooms 44-30 days50% of vacation price per Guest 29-15 days75% of vacation price per Guest 14 days or lessNo refund

No, from the minute you place a deposit down for a concierge stateroom, the deposit is non refundable. You can change dates, length of sailing and even downgrade your category but the deposit remains non-refundable if it was originally booked as a concierge cabin. It's been like that since about 2004-2005.

I've never seen it, other than part of an onboard promotion, or as a local offer.

 

Deposits are fully refundable up to 75 days out so its not a very valuable incentive for them,

Except Concierge deposits. Those are non-refundable.