Need advice for 2019 cruise

[YorkshireT]

Morning

Mrs YT and I are thinking of tacking a 3 or 4 night cruise onto our Florida holiday in 2019 (DVC owners but we won’t be going to Disney 2019, we may go to Universal and mop up some places on the Florida coast we haven’t been to so we are not fussed with which Port we go out of.)

Kids then will be 12 and 15.

We have never been on a cruise before. We were obviously looking at the Disney Cruises as an option.

So which cruise do you recommend and why? Is the Disney one worth the extra money over, say, a Royal Caribbean?

Edit: also what type of room would you book. I note the ones with balconys are much more expensive, and I am wondering if it is worth it for 4 nights?
Maybe it is? Also would you go aft, midship or forward?

Final question, is it best to book as soon as they come out? If yes when will they come out for the back end of July 2019.

Sorry for so many questions, but I know nothing about this and see we have some real experts on here.

Many thanks.

[Guest]

Where to start? I will share my oponion with you, but it is just that! My opinion! We will be on our 6th Disney cruise later this year, and we have never been on another cruise by any other company. In regards to your children, it could make a difference with what they are in to. Some of the other cruise liners have such things as rock climbing, ice skating, fairground rides, wave/surf machines! Disney does not gave any of this! But they do obvs take the disney element out to sea! So i guess it depends what you as a family want! We sail as 2 adults, 4 children, ( now 18,13,12 and 10 ) and have been disney crusing for last 6 years! My kids have obvs grown up a lot since the first time, and there needs have changed, but all still want to go on a disney cruise! We like knowing what we are getting , and tge quality of it! Yes, it gets busy on the boat at times, but disney cruises seem to maintain a good ratio of space per person, something i have read the other big boats do not always deliver.
In regards to 3 vs 4 nights, i would say do the 4 nights if you can to enjoy the experiance that little bit longer, even if the port visits remain the same.
As for position on ship , and type of cabin, this would come down to personal preferance and costs! There are many sites to review cabin choice once you have selected your boat/trip. But this will pretty much depend on what you deem important to your family! Most rooms will have a curtain to separate the adult bed to the kids beds, and most rooms have a seperate toilet from the batgroom, which is actually useful! Hope this helps a bit! Let us know as and when you find a cruise that suits your dates! And i suspect people on here will help with room choice. As a rule of thumb, it will cost more to go from an inside room to a window, and a window to a balcony! Question yourself what is important to you! You may well decide the balcony wont get used, so dont pay for it! Its that simple! I have done all 3. And we find extra room internally works best for us! Whilst others like the fresh air from having the balcony! Let us know how you get on!

[Bats]

Opinions are great aren't they. but they are just that .. opinions.

We love DCL and although I was booked to go another line in April, I chickened out when I read some reviews and rebooked back on DCL. 'Worth' is a personal thing .. what's worth it to some may not be worth it to others ... we consider DCL worth it yes, but others may not.

We wouldn't bother with a veranda on such a short cruise. The inside rooms on the Dream have virtual port holes anyway so you're kind of getting that same view of the outside as you would if you had an oceanview room. You also get the added bonus of characters popping up or swimming past every 30 mins or so

There is a cruise line for everyone, but it really depends on what you all want/need as to which one is best.

Joa

[YorkshireT]

Thanks both.

Mrs YT seems keen on the Disney cruise. Shes always said she isn't bothered about going on one, but she has looked online and something has sold it to her.

I may be coming back for more info from you experts shortly...

[Guest]

My son loved the real view! 👍👍👍

[redspottyowl]

We did a 7 day cruise with Norwegian Cruise Line on the Norwegian Escape Christmas 2016 with my 2 children, then 9& 11, it was outstanding, there was so much to do and I would it change anything about it

[amy56]

We’ve sailed on Disney 7 times, Carnival twice and Royal Caribbean once.

Whilst we’ve loved all of our cruises, I would choose Disney over every other liner.

My one exception would be where the cruise is so port intensive that the cruise is more of a hotel to sleep in rather than part of the holiday itself (for example we want to do a southern Caribbean cruise and DCL prices on the few they have done there have been extortionately priced -think 5x the price of a royal Caribbean one. As that cruise is literally at a different island everyday, we would only be using the boat as a place to sleep, in which case, we would opt for RCCL).

But where we are cruising and spending lots of time on the ship, we would opt for Disney every time. We much prefer the theming of the Disney restaurants and the Disney shows than anything we’ve seen on other ships.

[KarenG]

For me, it would depend on the price differential and the onboard activities for your teens.

We've only cruised with DCL (x2) and NCL. I did slightly prefer DCL (though some NCL elements were better and vice versa) but the time we booked NCL it was less than half the price DCL wanted for an equivalent itinerary (in a worse room, too).

Did I prefer DCL enough to pay more than double? No way.

I have it in my head that RCCL is a good option for teens?

[dippiedawnie]

We are looking to do our 8th Disney cruise next year so can only comment on DCL. Our DS will be 15 and loves DCL. The kids clubs for teens are great. They take them off at Castaeay cay where they have their own space and can do bike rides etc. The only way to see Cadtawsy is a Disney Cruise of course😀. We have done inside lower deck cabins and top deck concierge on the Dream and TBH for the time you spend in them there isn't really much point upgrading. We like a real view though so do go for at least 1 porthole now. The higher up and the further back the more you feel the movement and vibration. We preferred the cabins at the very front. Mid ships is supposed to be best for a smoother ride but those cabins are also more expensive. We felthardly anything forward.
Last year we had an aft cabin with extended veranda and woke up to amazing views every day but it was so hot we couldn't sit outside so it was a waste really. One thing for us is we never do the cruise at the start or the end of the trip. Never at the start as you can't chance getting on the day you land in case you are late therefore it's a bit of a waste hanging around to board the next day. Never at the end as they throw you off very early on the morning so you are tired and then you have a full day to wait for your night flight home. We always do the cruise in the middle instead.
Just my views but can't compare to other cruise lines.

[YorkshireT]

Thanks some very good tips there everyone. I’ve been watching that Adam Hatton on YouTube and the Disney Cruise does look good, Castaway Key looks very nice, and the shows look great. The food looks decent as well.
I see though 2 of you recommend NCL and that may be half price. Mmmmmm.
One thing I noticed about the Verandah rooms is they seem a lot bigger with 4 beds with one that comes out of the roof? Do the others have that?