Land/ sea Package

[Tao of the Dive]

How many people on this forum have done the land/ sea package and what were your results? We will be starting our four days on land on Sunday Sept. 19th with Epcot, since that will be our short day, and neither of us really look at Epcot as a full day. We will of course hit the other three parks during the next three days, and leave for Canaveral on that Thursday.

So far we are planning on snorkeling at Castaway Cay, and we are wondering if there is any diving there. We will be doing some diving at Nassau, but we dont have anythign else on our list of thigns to do. Any recommendations?

[pvangordon]

I did the package last October. Had so much fun, I booked a 7 day W Caribbean cruise right on the ship. :)

I think we did Magic Kingdom the first day, since I've been to D-land many times and thought it would be the most familiar. Then we did Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and MGM, one park a day. I can't remember in which order we did the parks, but there was some method to my madness, I think.

We don't have kids, so we'd just roll out of bed at a decent hour, grab some breakfast at the cafeteria, take the bus after most of the hordes had left, and spend anywhere between 3-6 hrs at the park. Then we'd leisurely go back to the hotel, take a nap, eat dinner, and relax for the evening. The only night we went out was the last night, when we had dinner at Wolfgang Puck's and saw Cirque du Soleil at Downtown Disney. We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, which was fun and different from your normal hotel.

We decided not to book any excursions for the cruise, since it was a short one. In Nassau, we just took the ferry over to Atlantis and looked around. The winds were high the day we were supposed to dock in CC, so unfortunately we didn't get a second stop.

Have a great time - DH and I will be on the Magic the week before!

[jessbaby]

Hi we are looking into cruising on the disney cruisline for our honeymoon. I saw that you also have no kids. I was wondering how you thought it was for adults? Were there a lot of kids on the ship in October b/c that is when we will be going. Any info would be helpful.

Thanks Jessica

[pvangordon]

Hi, Jessica: We didn't have a problem with it, but our lifestyle tends to be more solitary, so we didn't mind not hanging out in the public areas and attending events/shows where there would be lots of kids. We were seated at a table with 3 other couples and had a nice time with them - pick the late seating if you can. There's an adults-only pool area and I believe the spa is adults only as well (we spent WAY too much time and money there, lol - try the couples massage!). We went to the late-night movie showing, past the bedtime of many children. Our first trip was only a 3-nighter, so we didn't do any excursions in Nassau and couldn't dock in Castaway Cay due to high winds. We just slept in, ate late, and relaxed. The cabins are pretty spacious; if you do sail Disney, get a cabin with a deck, so you can sit out and watch the scenery.

For longer trips, they have a good choice of excursions that appeal to adults. For example, on our Sept cruise, we're doing the jeep safari tour in Cozumel, where we will get to take the jeep off-road (my hubby loves jeeps). Castaway Cay also has an adult-only beach area.

Overall DCL may not be the best cruiseline for adults, since it doesn't cater to that audience as much. However, if you love Disney (which I do), it's fun and you can certainly plan your days accordingly. They do a nice all-around job and quality/service levels tend to be high.

Congrats on your marriage!

[jessbaby]

thanks so much. We actually want to do the cruise your doing in September so I'm sure you'll be hearing from me after you go lol. Would we be able to get a table for two considering it's our honeymoon?

[Cruiseboy86]

My wife, two daughters(then ages 10 and 13), and I did this in Feb. 2001. We did 3 days at the parks and 4 at sea. After 3 busy days at the parks we were ready to relax on the ship. Our only regrets are that we missed a few things at the parks. Not because we really did't have time, we just didn't relize how much time we had. We could have spent the morning at Animal Kingdom before leaving for the ship. That would have freed up another half day somewhere else. Oh well, just another reason to go back.

You'll love the ship. The shows were great. I loved the food in the Parrot Cay rest. and our girls still talk about how much they enjoyed the chocolate smoothies and the mac and cheese, that's right, they loved the mac and cheese.

John

[Chloe Girl]

Tao of the Dive:

We did the 3 day land 4 day sea package back in 2000 on the Wonder with dear friends...we enjoyed ourselves so much that we will probably go back and do it again soon!

V&M

[NCmom]

We did the land/sea in 2001--it was the one that got us hooked on cruising. We stayed at the Poly. Since the passes are UPHs that include the water parks, we tried out some of the things we hadn't in the past. We also flew in on Saturday, got a cheaper hotel for Sat. night, then checked in bright and early so that we were at Epcot at park opening. Then on Thursday, we went to MK for early entry, and then drove to the port. It was a wonderful introduction to cruising.

[pvangordon]

Jessica: Not sure about the table for two, since I can't recall if I saw any of those in the dining halls. You should definitely check with your TA or DCL to see if you can do that.

Normally I would say that meeting new people at dinner is part of the fun of cruising, but since you will be on your honeymoon and will probably skip some meals to be on your own, a table for two might be useful this time around. If you do end up with dinnermates, just let them (and your waiters) know you're on your honeymoon and not to wait if you don't show up! DCL keeps the same dinner mates and waiters throughout the cruise.

Feel free to contact me about the W. Caribbean 7 day trip...I'm sure I'll have lots to say! I'll post details and pics on my blog shortly afterwards too.

[amonaghan]

So far we are planning on snorkeling at Castaway Cay, and we are wondering if there is any diving there. We will be doing some diving at Nassau, but we dont have anythign else on our list of thigns to do. Any recommendations?
No diving on Castaway Cay, but it was a fun day even without it. I may be mixing it up with RCI's private island but I believe they aren't too happy about using your own mask & snorkel. :eek:

My husband and I did the land/sea 2 yrs ago. We're big disney fans and made sure we did early admission in the mornings. Had our box of cheerios and off we went. Then about 11 when the lines were getting long we started looking for brunch.

I was amazed how little impact kids were on the ship (other than the double strollers in the elevator --- take the stairs). They do a great job.

We're off to do the Wonder for Labor Day. Thinking about doing Atlantis and not bringing our dive gear this time. :)

Enjoy,