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Disney Cruise Questions
Posted on 12/5/17 at 1:26 pm
Posted on 12/5/17 at 1:26 pm
I'm sure it's been discussed here, but anyway. Looking to do a vacation around April-May of next year. Will be the first one where we take our 3 year old son. Can't do Disney because my in laws are Disney freaks and pretty sure they would disown us if we went without them and it's not in the cards for them. I have been on one carnival cruise and said I'd never do one again, but this is Disney, so I know it's much better quality.
Is a verandah room worth an extra 7-800 bucks? What other expenses are you looking at besides airfare and the cruise fee (not counting drinks and such)? At Castaway Cay, is there enough "free" stuff to keep a 3 year old entertained, or should you budget for some sort of "excursion" type activity?
Also, random generic travel question. When flying with a 3 year old, how do you handle taxi's/shuttles? DO you basically have to fly with your carseat and carry it on the cruise with you? I realize that may be dumb. But we fly all the time, just never with the kid.
Is a verandah room worth an extra 7-800 bucks? What other expenses are you looking at besides airfare and the cruise fee (not counting drinks and such)? At Castaway Cay, is there enough "free" stuff to keep a 3 year old entertained, or should you budget for some sort of "excursion" type activity?
Also, random generic travel question. When flying with a 3 year old, how do you handle taxi's/shuttles? DO you basically have to fly with your carseat and carry it on the cruise with you? I realize that may be dumb. But we fly all the time, just never with the kid.
5
Posted on 12/5/17 at 1:57 pm to KG6
quote:
Is a verandah room worth an extra 7-800 bucks?
With just one child, the verandah probably isn't worth the upgrade, you probably won't spend a lot of time in the room.
What other expenses are you looking at besides airfare and the cruise fee (not counting drinks and such)?
If you are doing a 3 or 4 day cruise, you stop at Castaway and Freeport. Freeport sucks, you can get off the boat and walk around for a couple of hours, but staying on the boat is fine also. I recomend signing up for the photo package where you get all the photos taken by the ship's photographers for a couple of hundred dollars. If your son will go to the activity area you might want to get reservations at ones of the pay restaurant. Palo is excellent but adult only, it might be $30pp but excellent food. You will need to dress up. The ship has places to purchase stuff but it isn't needed.
quote:
At Castaway Cay, is there enough "free" stuff to keep a 3 year old entertained, or should you budget for some sort of "excursion" type activity?
Yes plenty to do, food is paid free. Drinks and excursions are all you need to pay for.
The ship will have a pirate night, normally it is the night you leave Castaway, you might want to get a pirate outfit for your son before you leave home.
The shows are Broadway quality and excellent. Don't miss them
Posted on 12/5/17 at 2:00 pm to KG6
quote:
When flying with a 3 year old, how do you handle taxi's/shuttles? DO you basically have to fly with your carseat and carry it on the cruise with you?
We just day F it and strap her into a seat belt. I'm not humping that car seat all over the damn place.
It should be noted that I don't win parent of the year competitions.
Posted on 12/5/17 at 2:04 pm to KG6
It's been 6 years since I went, so some of this might be dated, but...
Not sure. Never saw those rooms. We had a deluxe inside stateroom, and it was fine for me, the wife, and 2 kids. We really didn't spend much time in the room. Crashed every night, and wife and I snuck off to every afternoon for our time(wink, wink) while kids were doing activities on the ship. It did get a little cramped in the mornings with everyone showering and whatnot, but not too bad.
Alcohol is pretty much it. And souveniers. I think we spent about $500 from the time we left the house until we got home, and that included meals before/after the cruise. We brought some alcohol on the ship with us too.
Plenty. One thing you might want to check though is renting a cabana. They had some with plenty of shade and cribs in them if your little one needs a nap. Only thing we spent money on there was beer and I think the kids found an arcade that some things needed money for.
quote:
Is a verandah room worth an extra 7-800 bucks?
Not sure. Never saw those rooms. We had a deluxe inside stateroom, and it was fine for me, the wife, and 2 kids. We really didn't spend much time in the room. Crashed every night, and wife and I snuck off to every afternoon for our time(wink, wink) while kids were doing activities on the ship. It did get a little cramped in the mornings with everyone showering and whatnot, but not too bad.
quote:
What other expenses are you looking at besides airfare and the cruise fee (not counting drinks and such)?
Alcohol is pretty much it. And souveniers. I think we spent about $500 from the time we left the house until we got home, and that included meals before/after the cruise. We brought some alcohol on the ship with us too.
quote:
At Castaway Cay, is there enough "free" stuff to keep a 3 year old entertained, or should you budget for some sort of "excursion" type activity?
Plenty. One thing you might want to check though is renting a cabana. They had some with plenty of shade and cribs in them if your little one needs a nap. Only thing we spent money on there was beer and I think the kids found an arcade that some things needed money for.
Posted on 12/5/17 at 2:13 pm to KG6
I took a 6 year old and an infant when we went. Do you have any older kids or is the 3 year old it? We loved the nursery option. Reason for the trip was my daughter's 6th, and we checked our son into the nursery for the day on Castaway Cay. I think like 4-6 hours. He probably napped half of that time. And the price was reasonable. You could always do that for a couple of hours and one of you go back to get him and have some beach time. The island was more suited for older kids. Water slides out in the water, tubes, stuff like that. The pool was actually not crowded that day, so maybe take advantage of that.
As far as rooms, we had one with a little larger deck area, but we mainly just slept in there. It was nice when we were leaving a port during sunset, but other than that it was a waste. We booked in the offseason and got a steal. I don't want to tell you how little we paid for a family of 4. You'd just get mad.
So other than the room, we were out doing something between the pool/beach/movies/shows most every day, and your only extras will be alcohol. We didn't buy any pictures. We both had our phones and my wife brought our nice camera. If you're going on a 4 day, definitely buy the upfront alcohol package. We didn't because we didn't think we'd drink that much. After splitting a 6 pack by the pool two days, and splitting another 6er on the beach, I should have just bought it up front and had it delivered to the room. I also underestimated how much my wife would drink. She's usually a 2-3 beers and done type of person, but when you're on a boat all day with no responsibilities, you tend to let loose a little.
As far as rooms, we had one with a little larger deck area, but we mainly just slept in there. It was nice when we were leaving a port during sunset, but other than that it was a waste. We booked in the offseason and got a steal. I don't want to tell you how little we paid for a family of 4. You'd just get mad.
So other than the room, we were out doing something between the pool/beach/movies/shows most every day, and your only extras will be alcohol. We didn't buy any pictures. We both had our phones and my wife brought our nice camera. If you're going on a 4 day, definitely buy the upfront alcohol package. We didn't because we didn't think we'd drink that much. After splitting a 6 pack by the pool two days, and splitting another 6er on the beach, I should have just bought it up front and had it delivered to the room. I also underestimated how much my wife would drink. She's usually a 2-3 beers and done type of person, but when you're on a boat all day with no responsibilities, you tend to let loose a little.
Posted on 12/5/17 at 2:21 pm to TU Rob
quote:
The island was more suited for older kids. Water slides out in the water, tubes, stuff like that. The pool was actually not crowded that day, so maybe take advantage of that.
There is a splash pool area for small kids at Castaway.
Posted on 12/6/17 at 12:49 pm to wickowick
Well, this may not be happening now. Wife just found out she has an event for work the week we were going to go. Only other option is to move it up a week. But that would have us leaving the morning after I am attempting an Ironman. If I finish that thing at midnight, I don't think I'll be up for a 7:30 am flight the very next morning to 
.
. 
Posted on 12/7/17 at 6:20 pm to KG6
quote:
If I finish that thing at midnight, I don't think I'll be up for a 7:30 am flight the very next morning to
From experience...you won't be sleeping much the night of the race anyway
You'll want to, but you won't be able to sleep very well. At least, I never can
Posted on 12/8/17 at 7:57 am to LSUfan4444
We used Uber Family with our 3 year old in the Orlando area, and it worked out great.
In certain family vacation areas, you have the option to book a "Uber Family" type car and they guarantee a car seat. (usually get an SUV too)
Not much more than the regular Uberx rate, so it is a great option.
In certain family vacation areas, you have the option to book a "Uber Family" type car and they guarantee a car seat. (usually get an SUV too)
Not much more than the regular Uberx rate, so it is a great option.
Posted on 12/10/17 at 12:46 pm to KG6
We use Happy Limo to get from the Airport to the terminal and back again. They make it super easy to travel with kids. They meet text you while you are still in the air, when you get to the gate you text them and they are waiting for you at the baggage claim. They help with the luggage and can supply you with a car seat (this was great because there is limited room in your cabin on the ship and lugging the car seat around would get old).
Same thing with the trip back to the airport. Although it says Happy Limo, they picked us up once in a suburban and the other time in a towncar.
LINK /
Hope that helps.
We are doing our 4th Disney Cruise this May and I can tell you Brunch at Palo is worth the money. We have done Palo and Remy and prefer Palo.
Also, get a couple of day passes to the Garden Spa, drop the kids off in the kids area and go relax in the hot tub and the different shower experiences they have.
We have also done a few Galley tours, I used to work in the restaurant industry and it was neat seeing how they manage to cook for so many people at the same time.
Same thing with the trip back to the airport. Although it says Happy Limo, they picked us up once in a suburban and the other time in a towncar.
LINK /
Hope that helps.
We are doing our 4th Disney Cruise this May and I can tell you Brunch at Palo is worth the money. We have done Palo and Remy and prefer Palo.
Also, get a couple of day passes to the Garden Spa, drop the kids off in the kids area and go relax in the hot tub and the different shower experiences they have.
We have also done a few Galley tours, I used to work in the restaurant industry and it was neat seeing how they manage to cook for so many people at the same time.
This post was edited on 12/10/17 at 12:50 pm
Posted on 12/10/17 at 3:39 pm to bodsworth
We always do a one way car rental and can always find something either from MCO or Alamo from Disney for under $100 then we can stop somewhere along the way and pick up anything we may have forgotten or couldnt fly with.
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