Thinking about First Disney Cruise: Need Help

[MrPeetrie]

Hey, gang. I'm contemplating a 7-day Western Caribbean trip in May of 2017. We've never done a Disney cruise, so I have a few questions. Please, forgive my ignorance in this matter.

1.) Does Disney provide transportation to-and-from the airport? We've used Magical Express for our Walt Disney World trips. Is there something similar? Or do we need to find transportation.
2.) If we find our own transportation, do we rent a car? It would just sit for a week. Is there even a place to park it? If not, does Mears provide transportation? Or will we use a taxi?
3.) Will I need to "time" our flight to coincide with the cruise's departure time? In other words, if we arrive too soon, is there something to occupy us? (I'm sure I'm over-thinking this.)
4.) Our children will be 14 & 7 at time of trip. Is there enough on board to keep them busy? Or is seven days too long and they will just want trip to end?
5.) The Ports-of-Call seem great (for adults!) Will kids enjoy Cozumel? Grand Cayman?
6.) I see there are shows on board. Do I need to make "Priority Seating" arrangements with the cruise line like I do for a WDW trip?
7.) Will DW & I have fun? I know there are no casinos on a Disney Cruise ship. Is there enough for adults for seven days?

For me, this seems like fun, but I'm worried that everyone else wants it to end. Can you help?

Thanks!

[DizneyRox]

1. You can buy transfers from the airport or WDW to the pier. It's not 'free' like ME.
2. Transfers you buy from the cruise line ARE Mears. There are other private companies that will do the same, with more personal service.
3. I would plan to arrive the day before cruise departure day. Too much can go wrong between an early morning arrival and when the ship leaves. And the ship WILL leave without you at any port of call.
4. 7 days is fine.. Plenty to do... Actually that's not enough time to do it all, but that's another thread.
5. Never been Western Caribbean... If Disney goes there, you shouldn't have any trouble with family friendly activities.
6. When you pay for the cruise in full (60 day I think) you can start making arrangements. I don't know if any of the shows are by reservation. The more exclusive restaurants are, spa, shore excursions, etc.
7. We don't miss the casino. There's enough to do for sure. I wish they did offer cooking classes etc that some of the other lines do, but I've never been without something to do. We skip a lot of the islands just to hang out on board with less people.

We've stopped WDW and just do cruises these past few years. I will NEVER turn down a cruise... Never...

[MrPeetrie]

DizneyRox, first thanks for great advice.

You say you arrive a day early. Do you stay at WDW? Or somewhere else in Orlando? If so, where do you recommend? And should we rent car for a day?

[BrerGnat]

I agree about arriving a day early. We flew in late the evening before our last cruise and stayed at the Hyatt MCO. Used Disney transport to the pier the next morning. They even have a luggage service where they come to your room and get your bags and take them to the ship. Transportation costs $35 per person each way. We love the convenience of using the bus. We did drive down for our first cruise and parked our car. There is parking at the pier and it's a flat fee for a 7 night cruise (just over $100 I think).

I would NEVER fly in the morning of the cruise. A flight cancellation, missed connection, or substantial delay and you could miss the ship. "All aboard" time is, I think, 3:45pm. After that, the ship WILL leave without you. I also think about lost luggage. If that happened and you flew in same day, you are SO out of luck.

FYI, the buses start leaving the airport just before 9am so if you DO fly in early that morning, you won't have to kill too much time waiting around.

No need to make seating arrangements for the shows. There are two shows per night. The main seating diners see the later show. The late diners see the show while main dining is taking place. As long as you arrive a bit early to the show, you will be able to find seats together easily. The venue is huge.

Your kids will have fun. Your older child can hang with other teens at Vibe. Your younger one will probably love the kids clubs. The pool deck is fun for everyone.

As for you and your spouse, there are plenty of adult activities. Alcohol tasting seminars, Mixiology classes, trivia contests, the spa, adults only areas, etc.

You'll have a great time.

[DizneyRox]

DizneyRox, first thanks for great advice.

You say you arrive a day early. Do you stay at WDW? Or somewhere else in Orlando? If so, where do you recommend? And should we rent car for a day?

Depends... We are DVC members, so we generally use our membership before or after the cruise to visit with family in the area. We will normally stay at the airport if not though, we get a great rate at Marriotts, so we just do that.

Don't rent a car anymore, too many crazy drivers that don't know where they are going.

We have done car service back and forth to the airport or our resort. Taking the "Disney" bus can take soo long and you are at their mercy on timing. They DO run busses earlier in the am from the airport, but from the resorts, it's usually 11amish or later getting you to the pier much too late for my liking. They also have 2 or 3 other stops at resorts depending, I like direct!

[MrPeetrie]

Will our children (ages 14 & 7 at time of travel) need passports?

[BrerGnat]

Will our children (ages 14 & 7 at time of travel) need passports?

Need? No. Birth certificates will suffice. However, you might want to get them anyway. Worst case scenario and all that. It would be supremely inconvenient if one of you has a medical emergency and needs to fly home from a foreign port. We have them for our kids. Peace of mind.

[MrPeetrie]

Thanks, BrerGnat.

[MrPeetrie]

I pitched cruise idea to family and they are intrigued. Ordered Cruise-Planning Video. On 7-Day Weatern Caribbean Cruise, Cozumel is one Port of Call. Are there things there for my two children to enjoy, ages 14 & 8 by then?0

[DizneyRox]

Did you look here?

https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/p...res/caribbean/

Not sure what's there, we plan to stay on the ship that day. I will say though, while I'm glad we got to do a glass bottom boat adventure a couple of cruises ago, we were very close to leaving our breakfast onboard the boat. The little one loved it (age 6) but I won't be doing that again.

Most island tours are pretty good, but a little too high level for me. I'd probably go for something a little more focused.

[MrPeetrie]

Thank you, DizneyRox. Plenty of information there.

[BrerGnat]

I know that Cozumel has a Margaritaville. All the Western Caribbean itinerary ports have one, I think. They are like super decked out versions of the Restaurant we have stateside. These locations have pools with water slides, Beach access with floating playgrounds in the ocean, etc. If nothing else, your kids would enjoy that and the food tends to be pretty decent as well.