Hi-go to cruisecritic.com there is a whole message board just for the Disney Cruise Line and one of the most knowlegable members is 'momof4grandmaof4'.

We had a great time in May, but you have alot of ?? that can be explained by reading that board.

Have fun.

Thanks maryann. I have posted on the board you mentioned. Hope I get more answers.

Hi Ciny:

You might try just one or two questions per post. Asking 10 questions causes people to skip the post.

I'll try help with a couple items. You did not say where it sails from, but I'd guess Port Canaveral. At that time of the year we have often needed jackets. And, on such a short cruise you'll not get far enough away to warm much. I'd pack for warm weather and bring a jacket or sweatshirt in case they have a cold snap.

I believe Castaway Cay is the island that disney bought and developed so its small and their is a private beach area, but little in the way of excursions...perhaps none. I think you just get off the ship and can rent peddle boats, etc. I also believe that they set up different beach areas with different themes, such as one for adults, etc.

The travel documents you'll get prior to the cruise should help answer a lot of questions. If you have more, post them hear and we'll try to help.

Enjoy you first cruise.

The island was fun, you can rent bikes and ride them, there was a photo op with Jack Sparrow in front of the Flying Dutchman (anchored in the water beyond); you could sit on chaises on the beach (yes there was shade), there was an area where the kids could play games like shuffleboard and ping pong, there was an area to get your hair cornrowed if you wanted, there was a large food area with free food of several types and you could take it anywhere you wanted and eat.

My kid played in the sand with a new friend.

As far as excursions; Disney offered the "dolphin experience" where you could get in 4 ft of water and meet dolphins; I went directly to the company's website and booked direct for a dolphin swim (not offered by Disney) and we were in the water (they gave us wet suits) with the dolphins and they let us hug them and various other things, it was awesome. The last bit was they had the dolphins push us by our feet in the water until we were being scooted along being pushed! We bought the DVD package of that.

A once in a lifetime experience.

Since we didn't book through Disney, we had get to the boat dock and book public transportation on a boat to the dolphin place, but that was fine. We never felt afraid, the people were nice. We walked through town a bit and had lunch in a local restaurant, and then we went to the Atlantis hotel and they hailed us a cab and took us back to the Cruiseship dock, where we shopped a little and got back on the ship.

The taxi driver was very nice and it was a wonderful experience.

We didn't book any other excursions, but I highly recommend the dolphins.

If you have not been to Disneyworld (which is much bigger than Disneyland and consists of several parks)it is definitely worth it especially with the ages of your childen. Disney has some great Cruise/DWorld packages that can save you a lot of money vs. making separate reservations.

5) Ciny, check Southwest airlines, may be a cheaper flight to your destination. They fly from both airports: SFO and OAK.

I prefer OAK over SFO for morning flights to avoid fog delays.