disney cruise
 

need comments from anyone who has done the Disney Cruise/Disney World trip combo; was the cruise part worth the extra $$? or should we just stay at the parks? This will be our first family visit to Orlando Disney.

YES, YES, YES!!!! It is honestly worth every penny. We did four days on land, four at sea, and it was perfect. We started out staying at Disney's Yacht Resort and went to parks everyday. I believe if you do the land/sea package you get hopper passes to the parks, which is ideal since you can go back and forth whenever you want. The cruise is FABULOUS! Probably the best I've ever been on! Definitely worth the money. I can't even explain how much fun we had!

I agree...we went on the Disney Cruise last summer and it was fabulous! We did the 3land/4cruise package and added 3 extra days to the front of our trip to stay in Disney. We also stayed 2 days before that near Universal and went there and to Sea World also. But the cruise was definitely the highlight of our trip. Our children were 11 & 5 when we went and we hardly ever saw them. They absolutely loved it. Our daughter only ate dinner with us one night and our son only ate with us twice. They preferred to be in the kids clubs doing their own thing. The shows are wonderful....Disney did not disappoint. Disney's Island - Castaway Cay is also wonderful...If you do decide to go, I highly recommend the Dolphin Swim on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. It's a little expensive, but worth every penny. If you decide to go and have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them! My email address is above.

I did the 4 day cruise/3 day land package. A few disorganized thoughts: <BR> <BR>Definitely don't do less than 4 days of cruising. The first day is transit, boarding, lifeboat drill and dinner. The second is Bahamas. The third is Castaway Cay. By that point, if you are on the three-day cruise, they toss you off the ship the next morning, and you haven't seen the ship yet. You need the fourth day to relax and catch your breath. <BR> <BR>Definitely add-on to the land portion. Again, the first day is arrival, the second and third days are parks, and then you're through. It's too short; you can't see much. <BR> <BR>As for whether the cruise is worth it, well, let's just say it may be my first and last cruise. It just isn't my cup of tea, that's all. We went in summer, and it was a welcome relief from doing amusement parks in the heat. But the kids LOVED the cruise and beg me to take them back. I tel them, "We'll see."

we loved the cruise - castaway cay was awesome. However, I do not like Nassau and if I trusted my memories of previous visit and had to do all over again I would not have gotten off boat in Nassau. If you do venture - do a disney related activity. do not go into Nassau on your own - transportation is a mess.

Krista, I can't tell you how much our family enjoyed the Disney cruise. It was the best vacation we have ever taken as a family, and we've been on many. My kids literally cried when it was time to leave (they were 6 and 9 at the time). They like it much more than Disneyworld. In fact if we do it again, we will not even go to Disneyworld, we would just do the 7 day cruise which wasn't an option last time. <BR> <BR>The kids had a ball from sunup to sundown and the ship was gorgeous. Beautifully decorated, wonderful cabins, fantastic productions. Worth every penny. <BR> <BR>If you haven't been to Disney though you probably would want to visit. If you can, do the 3 day land, 4 day cruise and then add a day to the land portion. It's a fabulous family vacation. <BR> <BR>Amy, I agree with you on Nassau. We came back to the ship after an hour. I wish they would spend 2 days at Castaway Cay and skip Nassau completely! Now you've got me thinking....

curious, <BR> <BR>i made the suggestion that Nassau should be skipped for Castaway and was explained that disney makes money somehow on docking in Nassau. I was also told that most of the people on the cruise wrote in suggestions that Nassau should be skipped.

You didn't specify the ages of your kids, but a couple of years ago, we took a trip with ages 14, 11, 9 and 6. Every single one of the kids loved it! Disney does a fantastic job catering to each age group. I think the 9 and 11 year old were in the same group - they had a great time in their group, and the activities were really age appropriate. The staff did a great job "beeping" my sister when her 6 year old wanted to go swimming ( they will not take your younger kids to the pool) The 14 year old was pretty much on his own with his group the whole time we were there - they even had their own area on Castaway Cay (no parents) and a Harbor cruise (separate fee of 25.00) for teens while in Nassau. Since its your first time to Disney however, I really recommend 4 days in the parks, and only a three day cruise. There's just too much to do in WDW to cram into three days. If you can add on to the land portion before the cruise, then go for the 4 day cruise. I definitely agree with those above that said skip Nassau and stay on the ship - I've been there twice, and forgot the second time what a waste of time it was. Full of touristy, t-shirt shops and cheap knick knacks. There are a few jewelry stores, but I've yet to find any great bargains. Enjoy the ship instead!

1. Do longer on land than at sea. 2. Take the 4 day cruise. The kids loved it even more than Disney World. 3. Leave from The Animal Kingdom on the day of ship boarding. You get a half day at Disney as the shuttles will leave at about 12:30, but you must sign up for this when you get to Disney. Go on the Safari early in the morning because the animals are very active. A rhino and gazelle were fighting 5 feet from me on our trip through. 4. In the Bahamas, we took an America's Cup sailing ship race ride. It was awesome, maybe not worth the money, but an exhilirating experience. 5. My 5 year old loved the activities on the ship, while my ten year old liked doing things with us as there were not many kids his age on the ship during our cruise. 6. Experience as many things as you can, the trip is shorter than you think!