Disney Cruise Vacation -QUESTIONS

[RoadKill]

My wife, son and I, as well as my Brother in law and his wife and daughter are strongly considering going on a Disney Cruise in October or November. Many of you know my son has a severe Heart Defect, so while I can't really afford it I'm doing it anyway. We don't like to fly so we will probably drive.

Here are my questions:

1) Anyone ever rent and RV? Would like to rent it to get down to Florida and then rent one again to get back.

 

2) Any other ideas so we could all go down together?

 

3) Anyone been on a Disney Cruise? If so, Tell me your thoughts please.

 

Thanks

[BoomerCPO]

Wife and I + 2 sons have gone on 2 Disney Cruises. Worth every penny IMHO. Make sure you alert the Cruise Ship Staff of any medical conditions. You will all be treated like royalty I can assure you.

 

Renting a RV will cost big $$$$. Why not take the train down to Disney? They (Disney)will pick you up at the train station and transport you right to the Cruise Ship.

 

Don't overpack on the clothes! Laundry and Dry Cleaning service is available 24/7 on the Ship.

 

You'll be amazed at all the activities available for both adults and the kids. Simply not enough hours in each day to see/do everything.

 

Expect to gain a bit of weight too....the food is to die for....and you can have meals brought right to your cabin 24/7 as well.

[RoadKill]

Wife and I + 2 sons have gone on 2 Disney Cruises. Worth every penny IMHO. Make sure you alert the Cruise Ship Staff of any medical conditions. You will all be treated like royalty I can assure you.

 

Renting a RV will cost big $$$$. Why not take the train down to Disney? They (Disney)will pick you up at the train station and transport you right to the Cruise Ship.

 

Don't overpack on the clothes! Laundry and Dry Cleaning service is available 24/7 on the Ship.

 

You'll be amazed at all the activities available for both adults and the kids. Simply not enough hours in each day to see/do everything.

 

Expect to gain a bit of weight too....the food is to die for....and you can have meals brought right to your cabin 24/7 as well.

 

Thanks Keith. I never even thought about the train. That is a great idea. I will check into it.

[BoomerCPO]

Thanks Keith. I never even thought about the train. That is a great idea. I will check into it.

 

Don't bring a lot of cash with you. On the Ship everything you buy will be put on your Room Key Pass. You will settle your Bill with the Purser long before the Ship does final docking.

 

The Disney Cruise ship does NOT have a Casino on the ship. All the other Cruise Line ships do have Casino's on board.

 

Have a great time....I know you will all love the adventure!

[Guindalf]

Have never done Disney, but my wife & I love to cruise.

 

As Keith said, no casino on the Disney ships but I hear nothing but good things about them and again, as Keith mentioned, make sure they know about son's medical condition.

 

Disney cruises are generally considerably more expensive than other cruise lines, but I do know they do things right - like the restaurant that goes from black and white to color as you complete your meal! You will have a great time. They have their own island, as most cruise lines do, but they "manufactured" it, Disney style so it's the only one that's dockable (the others run tenders - small boats from the ship to the island) and also wired so you can use your key card to make purchases while on the island.

 

Check out all the information on Cruisecritic.com for reviews and loads of tips on how to book and what to see and do. Register on the forum and make friends and plan meets before you go. Many cruise lines recognize members of cruisecritic an may have a party and gifts for you when you sail.

[CrazyHorse]

Disney cruise ships pretty nice. Lots of stuff for kids to do all day. A couple restaurants,bars, pools. The cruise part was nice didnt care much for the Bahamas stop dirty,beggers, people wanting to braid your hair. Didnt get to their island due to weather went back to Bahamas Freeport which again got hassled. Cruise part great though.

[GunnyButch]

We went on a Disney cruise about 5 years ago when our daughter was still in high school. It was a very nice trip, the activities for the children are exceptional. We did the 3 night in the park and 4 nights at sea package. The Disney island is nice, thiers is the only ship so there isn't anyone trying to sell you stuff and has a separate beach for adults if you want. You can check with Disney but when we were there no other cruise lines used Disney island when our ship was there. I would recommend it over the others due the family theme versus the others with casinos, over imbibers, etc but that is my personal preference.

[MiCarl]

My family did a Disney cruise a number of years ago.

 

I agree, I wouldn't get off the boat in Nasau again. Just a filthy town with t-shirt sellers and hair braiders.

 

Castaway Cay is Disney's private island. It is outstanding. They have a pier for the cruise ship so you don't use a tender like a lot of island excursions. This makes for a more pleasant trip, however the weather has to allow the ship into the inlet. The time we went the wind and current were difficult and the Captain tried 3 times before aborting for two hours. Fourth try he got in but we missed half the day there.

 

The Disney ships are smaller than most cruise ships, you can definitely feel the sea more. I like this, but for those inclined to motion sickness it can be an issue.

 

They provide an outstanding experience for the children. It's a dream trip for the young-uns.

[cecdoo]

We did the Disney Magic about 5 years ago it was great, I think the cost of an RV would be outasite? I would go more towards Nov. need to watch for hurricane season. Its still warm in Nov. Planning the trip is half the fun get your son involved. WE have been to Disney many times, be glad to help with any questions you have. I say go for it. Craig

[RoadKill]

We did the Disney Magic about 5 years ago it was great, I think the cost of an RV would be outasite? I would go more towards Nov. need to watch for hurricane season. Its still warm in Nov. Planning the trip is half the fun get your son involved. WE have been to Disney many times, be glad to help with any questions you have. I say go for it. Craig

 

We are tentatively looking at late October, its seems to be a little cheaper. Hopefully we will avoid the Hurricanes but they seem to have that covered too. We are looking forward to it.

[hig4s]

We are DVC (Disney Vacation Club) members for many, many years. We have traded our vacation points for cruises three times and plan on doing it again this summer. We love the Disney cruise line. The ships are great for families, and adults to as there are several 18 and over sections as well as an 18 and over pool and a fourth 18 and over restaurant (Palo's) which you can upgrade to for $10 a person. The Filit Migion there was the best steak of any kind I ever had anywhere ever!!!!!!!!

 

They have tons of off ship excursions (for an extra price of course) when ever the boat is docked. And their private island is treated like it is part of the ship so lunch the day you are on the island is complimentary.

 

Sodas are not free, except one with the meals, but you can buy a souviner cup for $15 (at least that was the price a few years ago) that you can refill unlimited for the whole cruise. But there is always milk, coffee, and tea available free at the refreshment station up on deck.

 

If you haven't already you should spend a few hours perusing the Disney Cruise web site..

 

enjoy

[MAINEAC]

My wife, son and I, as well as my Brother in law and his wife and daughter are strongly considering going on a Disney Cruise in October or November. Many of you know my son has a severe Heart Defect, so while I can't really afford it I'm doing it anyway.

 

I didn't know about your son's condition and am sorry to hear it... Have you considered Making a wish? A neighbor of mine has a daughter with a very rare version of Menegitis and they put in a wish and got a all expenses paid trip to Disney for the whole family... Might be worth a try... http://www.wish.org/refer