Disney cruise help request

[longamkl]

Hi all,

I never thought I'd be posting these questions already but here goes. We're looking for a holiday that would be for just the four of us, would be fun for the kids and where the adults could have some alone time. We are thinking that a Disney cruise could be the answer. (most holidays that we've had have been with grandparents for sanity preservation - we have twins and the one holiday we did on our own with 14 month-old twins was a disaster).

The twins are three now so we have a little confidance. We'd like to remain on the west coast to minimize travel so we're looking at a mexican riviera cruise.

are there tips/ strategies that you can offer similar to the tips for attending WDW or DL? Is it too late to book for this winter? can you recommend a travel agent or should we just book online and if so with whom? are there any ways to save money? can we really all stay in one cabin?

the twins are senstive. they haven't seen a lot of tv much less disney movies. they react very strongly to any type of dramatic music on the tv, or dark scenes. They get scared very easily. is this a good idea at all? They did manage to sit on Santa's lap this year on the plus side. They go to preschool so they can handle some time away from us and potty training took a backslide over the holidays but they are starting to get the gyst.

What do you think? thanks for any help

[Tondi G]

haven't used them but this TA has gotten good reviews from another site I've visited. You can always book directly with the cruise line though. Disney Cruises are always a lot more expensive than say a Carnival, Royal Caribbean or a Norwegian cruise that visits the same itinerary.

http://www.smallworldvacations.com/disney-cruise

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/

Your children are 3, but will need to be fully potty trained to take part in the regular children program on a Disney or RCCL cruise. Cruises are nice and if your children willingly go into the children's program it can mean a nice break for Mom and Dad. It is not too late to book for this winter. The longer you wait the less options for cabin locations there will be. You want to try to book mid ship, on a deck that is sandwiched between cabins.... don't want to be under the pool deck or the dining rooms or too close to a bar/theater that could be noisy at night. If you have to choose between forward and aft, I would suggest aft. we ended up forward on one cruise and there was a lot more motion. we've been on 2 RCCL mexican riviera cruises with our 2 boys (DS1 was 8 and DS2 was 4 on their first cruise).

I HIGHLY recommend going over to Cruise Critic and reading some of the boards over there. The people are incredibly helpful! Here is a link to the family cruises board
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=49

[HallsofVA]

Disney cruises are great! We've taken 6 already and have 4 more booked! If your 3 year olds are potty trained, the Oceaneer's Club is excellent and we loved it when our kids were old enough to start using it, since we finally got a chance to explore more of the adult offerings on the ship. Under 3 or not quite potty trained can go to the Nursery, which is an additional per hour charge, but still great.

I'm always happy to recommend my travel agent, Tracy Whipple ([email protected]), and she has assisted several others from this board as well.

Disney currently has west coast sailings available on the Disney Wonder to the Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, and the west coast in general, through early December 2012. We're still awaiting the announcement of the plans for December 2012 and onward, which should be coming out shortly ("after the first of the year" was the last expectation given!)

Disney had offered a lot of kids sail free offers for the Jan - March Mexican Riv. cruises, along with Southern California resident discounts, but most of those offers seem to have expired at the moment. That also results in ships that may have reached their capacity on kids, or on rooms that sleep 4, since the kids free offer tends to increase the number of kids per room. Even so, the MR cruises are relatively cheap. I just looked and you could sail this Sunday on a 7nt cruise in a verandah room for under $4k, and on 1/22 for $4600 in a Family verandah room. 2/12 has Oceanview rooms for $3200. March 4 is the cheapest available since there is an inside room for just under $3000 (we prefer oceanview rooms, but I've heard the inside rooms are great if your kids still nap!)

We've done the parks (WDW, not DL) before and after cruises, and I prefer to do them before since the cruise is more relaxing. But if you are really looking for a relaxing vacation, I'd skip the parks at that age since they may be too short for many rides, and the lines for characters are much shorter and more manageable on the ship. Plus the 7nt cruise includes a free character breakfast, and awesome kid-friendly Disney musicals that are just under an hour.

Let me know if you have any specific questions. Always glad to help share my obsession!

[longamkl]

just wanted to say thanks so much for the replies. I appreciate the travel agent recommendation and the site for research. We haven't made any decisions yet but it's good to know that it's not too late.

[theriviera]

I'm on my phone but wanted to say that we are doing the dcl Mexico cruise in 2 months. We had a so cal resident discount which enabled us to get two connecting rooms. We used Tracey at small world vacations and she's been great!