Disney Cruise best for first cruise?

[Kiwiz]

I'm looking at booking a BIG holiday for us in the US in the latter part of 2012. Suddenly our NZ dollar has made it way more affordable to travel to the USA! My kids are cruise boat mad and will be nearly five when I am looking to travel. They love Disney and have watched endless YouTube clips of the Disney Wonder. My husband is skeptical of crusing as we've both been seriously independent travellers for 20 years before the kids turned up. I've said Disney would be perfect for us as it's got a great non-smoking policy, no casinos and is all about fun. My question is: how have other CC Forum members found the kids club for the 4-5 year old range on Disney Wonder (we'd be looking at a Pacific Coastal route)?

 

Any advice/ compelling reports that I can show my husband would be gratefully recieved. It's a huge mental shift to go on a cruise and I want to get the first cruise right so I can hook hubby!

[chipmaster]

My 2 cents is money no issue ( IE you can afford it without making huge sacrifices or compromises ) its hard to beat the Mouse experience / value.

 

I'm experiencing Disney World, and yes everythings is pricey but you can't beat the experience.

 

Warning, if you do Disney as your first cruise you might get spoiled :D

[Btands]

Our first cruise was on Holland America. We thought it was the best cruise until we discovered Disney. It is night and day! If you are going to cruise, cruise Disney!

[Kiwiz]

The cost of the DCL doesn't worry me too much, it just got cheaper as our dollar bucked it's ideas up a bit against other currencies. It's the airfares which are a greater cost and I have to factor (plus the 11 hour flight if we are lucky to get a direct flight to LAX).

 

Is it better to book direct with DCL or use a TA? I really like the DCL website as I can pick my cabin and make sure all my booking is done my way but I'm unsure if an agent would get a better price. I don't know how things work in the States but it's 50/50 who gets the better deal going direct or using an agent. I'd be looking at a US TA btw.

 

I keep saying to my husband that if we are going to do this we are going to do it right - it's all about giving the kids a huge kid-centric holiday and I know DCL is the best to do that (RCCL was my other choice but I have to use an NZ based TA and they charge like a wounded bull).

[LittleMissMagic]

My first cruise was a 4-day Disney Cruise! :)

 

After that, we got hooked on cruising! We transitioned to Royal Caribbean because we wanted to sail Alaska. Then we realized that RCI was pretty nice, too, so we stuck with that for a while. Then we've played around with Carnival, and while it's not our favorite, it's usually good for the prices and itineraries.

 

So you won't necessarily be "spoiled" by a Disney Cruise (though I'm afraid if I cruise Disney again in the future, I will be! :D).

[SallyUK]

When we're not cruising we like to do our own thing travel wise.

 

If you want independence, then make sure you're on a port-intensive cruise and do your own thing when you get there. We often do that. It gives us a chance to crack out the stack of Lonely Planets and Rough Guides at the library where I work and choose what we want to do. That way you'll get the best of Disney and the best of independent travel. From what you've said, you may find sitting on a coach tour with 40 others a bit boring.

 

But you'll never want to go on another cruiseline after Disney and you will have children with massive withdrawal symptoms and huge expectations with regard to future holidays at the end:eek:.

[eskiemomo]

we've taking 6 or so cruises on RCCL and booked 2 on Disney which we're looking forward to because now we have a little one :) I just wanted to pipe up about the Pacific Coast cruise since I'm not seeing a lot of discussion about it here..... to me the overnight stay at San Francisco on the Disney Wonder (we're going Sept 2012) is something you rarely find on any cruise, and was a big plus for us because San Francisco is definitely a city to check out at night plus 2 days. I have lived up and down the Pacific Coast and not found many other options on mass market cruise lines with that kind of itinerary (I do NOT want to go to Ensenada Mexico total waste of time once was enough!!!) so when I saw it we booked right away.

 

The Sept 2012 Pacific Coast Disney cruise ends in LA so you can add on the Disneyland experience to the whole vacation as well as other theme parks in the area (Magic Mountain, Knott's Berry Farm, Universal Studios) I think your kids will have more fun than they can handle :D

[Kiwiz]

Thanks guys, I'm really getting keen on this and have been badgering/telling my husband all these tips all weekend.

 

SallyUK, we sound like we travel in a similar way. Certainly we'll just do our own thing in ports. Places like San Fran my husband has been to before and has clear ideas of what we can do as a family and adults alone, plus I there are some specific interests I have that won't be covered in tours from port. The kids aren't brilliant at sitting still at the best of times so a half day tour on a bus would be pushing it, typical boys I guess. I do like the looks of the fire truck tour with the kids in San Fran though.

 

Eskimomo - Two days in San Fran really took our fancy too. Do we have to be back on board by a certain time on the first night at all? What didn't you like about Ensenanda? It would be our first taste of Mexico and I know it's a border town. I did look at the Mexican Riveria tours too but I really like the idea of San Fran and San Diego with small people.

 

Oh I'm so naughty, I found vid steam on Legoland last night and gave the laptop to the boys sitting on their Daddy's knee. The boys now have a list of interests an arm long starting with a Disney Cruise Ship. One son has been building cruise ships for about three months out of Duplo and says he's going to make cruise ships and be a doctor when he gets older!

 

Should I just book via Disney's site? I'm worried about getting tickets before we go as we will probably go over a week beforehand, which doesn't give us much time once you've taken everything into account.

[JillK]

My two daughters absolutely loved the kids club. If it had been up to them, they would have spent all day and night there, and even had their meals with them.

 

We did a 3 night Wonder cruise in Feb '09 and only my oldest was of age to attend kids club (4 at time). She would cry when we went to pick her up!!

 

They both attended the kids club daily on our 7 night Magic cruise in Dec '10 (then 6 and 4) and did not want to leave. They do all kinds of activities throughout the day with the kids - individual play time, movies, character meetings, sleepovers and at the end of the cruise they did a performance on stage with Mickey and Minnie (Friendship Rocks).

 

For children, DCL is beyond belief. It's magical for adults too but I can't imagine when my 6 year old mind would think about all that fun and meeting all those characters.

 

The only challenge you will have is going back to another cruise line!

 

Good luck convincing your hubby!

[shipmate13]

You can't go wrong with Disney. We have been on the Disney Wonder and are already booked for the Disney Dream. We took our daughter at the time she was 9 on the 3 night Disney Wonder since she was still young. We thought the three night was enough for her since it was her first cruise. I must say, there were just as many people cruising that time that didn't have any children and were having a blast. Disney does it right and don't cut corners on anything. Although you pay more, it is so worth it. You will always read something negative by cruisers on any ship. I don't let any negative comments make the decision to go or not to go on any particular ship. Have fun, enjoy yourself and I say go for it!!!! No regrets. Life is too short.

[PopFla]

Warning, if you do Disney as your first cruise you might get spoiled :D

 

But you'll never want to go on another cruiseline after Disney ...

 

^^^^ DITTO ^^^^

 

We did our first on Magic, second on Wonder, third on Magic (concierge suite), fourth on Wonder, fifth on Dream, and are booked again on Dream in September.

 

Spoiled ? You betcha ! And loving every minute of it.

[aloisia]

Hi Kiwiz,

Disney is a wonderful cruise line! Not sure if you can get this but I bought the Passporter Disney Cruise book for my 1st trip. It had so much information on the ship + activities. Fabulous resource for planning. :)

[Jenn_K]

But you'll never want to go on another cruiseline after Disney and you will have children with massive withdrawal symptoms and huge expectations with regard to future holidays at the end:eek:.

 

So true !!! My daughter tells me she would rather a 3 night on the Dream (if it were all we could afford) compared to 7 nights anywhere else !!

 

I think we sure did spoil ourselves with our first cruise being Disney. One day we may choose another line, however, it is just perfect for our family right now

[Kiwiz]

I don't care if we set the bar really high with a DCL cruise, I just think it sounds like a perfect family holiday for us.

 

Does anyone know what the gyms are like? My husband runs and I know Wonder it has a track but I use a spin bike, an C2 erg/indoor rowing machine and kettlebells. Does anyone know if the Wonder has an erg and kettlebell sets?

 

What are the crowds in LA like in September? I'm going to try and get my husband to take at least three weeks break and do the cruise and then all the other good stuff LA has in September. It's a good time for us as it's the end of winter here and we could do with a bit of sun at that time of year.

 

Do people stay at hotels or rent holiday homes in LA? We normally rent an apartment or a holiday house when we go to Australia or around NZ. What do people do in the States?

 

Don't think I can get a Passporter as they ask for 'state' and no country field in their ordering system.

 

Got the Berlitz First Time Cruise guide today. DCL doesn't appear to be well covered but there are plenty of other good tips and plenty of pics. I plan on arming the kids with the guide to greet my husband when he comes in the door tonight!

[Host Mick]

I don't care if we set the bar really high with a DCL cruise, I just think it sounds like a perfect family holiday for us.

 

Does anyone know what the gyms are like? My husband runs and I know Wonder it has a track but I use a spin bike, an C2 erg/indoor rowing machine and kettlebells. Does anyone know if the Wonder has an erg and kettlebell sets?

 

What are the crowds in LA like in September? I'm going to try and get my husband to take at least three weeks break and do the cruise and then all the other good stuff LA has in September. It's a good time for us as it's the end of winter here and we could do with a bit of sun at that time of year.

 

Do people stay at hotels or rent holiday homes in LA? We normally rent an apartment or a holiday house when we go to Australia or around NZ. What do people do in the States?

 

Don't think I can get a Passporter as they ask for 'state' and no country field in their ordering system.

 

Got the Berlitz First Time Cruise guide today. DCL doesn't appear to be well covered but there are plenty of other good tips and plenty of pics. I plan on arming the kids with the guide to greet my husband when he comes in the door tonight!

 

Try ordering the Passporter through Amazon.com or whatever online book source you use.

[Kiwiz]

Thank you everyone - just booked our first ever cruise thanks to the support of the CC DCL Forum people. We are off on the 23rd of Sept 2011 on the Wonder!!! I'm so excited. We got a nice SPR too on the port side. Thankfully our dollar hit a record high against the USD today and we seized the moment and chucked the lot on the credit card. Now I've just got to work out land arrangements and wait for flights to open. Oh and tell the kids... maybe wait a year on that one.

[Jenn_K]

Thank you everyone - just booked our first ever cruise thanks to the support of the CC DCL Forum people. We are off on the 23rd of Sept 2011 on the Wonder!!! I'm so excited. We got a nice SPR too on the port side. Thankfully our dollar hit a record high against the USD today and we seized the moment and chucked the lot on the credit card. Now I've just got to work out land arrangements and wait for flights to open. Oh and tell the kids... maybe wait a year on that one.

 

 

Awesome !! I know you will have fun.

[aloisia]

I don't care if we set the bar really high with a DCL cruise, I just think it sounds like a perfect family holiday for us.

 

Does anyone know what the gyms are like? My husband runs and I know Wonder it has a track but I use a spin bike, an C2 erg/indoor rowing machine and kettlebells. Does anyone know if the Wonder has an erg and kettlebell sets?

 

What are the crowds in LA like in September? I'm going to try and get my husband to take at least three weeks break and do the cruise and then all the other good stuff LA has in September. It's a good time for us as it's the end of winter here and we could do with a bit of sun at that time of year.

 

Do people stay at hotels or rent holiday homes in LA? We normally rent an apartment or a holiday house when we go to Australia or around NZ. What do people do in the States?

 

Don't think I can get a Passporter as they ask for 'state' and no country field in their ordering system.

 

Got the Berlitz First Time Cruise guide today. DCL doesn't appear to be well covered but there are plenty of other good tips and plenty of pics. I plan on arming the kids with the guide to greet my husband when he comes in the door tonight!

 

We recently had 3 days pre-cruise for LA. Since there were 5 of us, I did look at rental homes + hotels. We ended up at the Summerfield Suites El Segundo ( very close to Manhattan Beach area). The suite had 2 bedrooms, 2 bath + small kitchen. Clean & close to grocery stores. You do need a car for sight seeing as this location was not close to Hollywood etc.

Having said all this ;) .... I think the Santa Monica area would be one of the best places to stay - it was a little out of our budget .

[Kiwiz]

Thank you Aloisia - that looks really good for flying into LAX. I'll have a further look a bit later on today.

 

Man I meant the 23 of Sept 2012. Over excitement. Only a year and a few months to go. Can't wait.

[Jenn_K]

Thank you Aloisia - that looks really good for flying into LAX. I'll have a further look a bit later on today.

 

Man I meant the 23 of Sept 2012. Over excitement. Only a year and a few months to go. Can't wait.

 

I would definitely wait to tell the kids !! I am certainly not telling my daughter about our Nov cruise next year ... she would kill me with questions and excitement for over a year

[Kiwiz]

Ah we told them. They seem to be taking it fine now that they've confiscated all the library books on cruise ships and California. Aparently they were giving lectures on cruising merits at Kindergarten this morning... :rolleyes: