First Disney Cruise

Need advice please. My DH and I are looking to book a Disney cruise as a surprise for out daughters 13th birthday, in Oct 2016.

We live on Long Island, so were originally looking at the cruises out of NY. I am not thrilled with the itineraries, and sea days vs port days. So when I looked at ships out of Florida, they are cheaper and about the same price when you factor in airfare to FL.

There is a 7-Night Western Caribbean Cruise on Disney Fantasy leaving on her birthday (Oct 15).

Then there is a 7-Night Bahamian Cruise on Disney Magic which also leave on her birthday.

I am leaning towards the Fantasy, mostly because I can get a midship ocean view room on a decent floor, something I have not been able to find on the Magic.

Any advice and tips are appreciated and welcomed

What are the differences between the two ships, is one better than the other?

The Magic launched in 1998 and is the first DCL ship. She underwent a major "reimagination" process about 2 years ago and is in great shape. A normal passenger load is 2500 with a max of 2700. The oceanview cabins on the Magic are on decks 1 and 2....which you obviously don't consider to be a decent floor. I'm not sure what you base this on, never having been on the ship. I've stayed on both decks on the Magic and there is nothing wrong with either one. Deck 1 is very quiet as there are few guest cabins there, and very convenient on port days. Deck 2 has the bigger portholes and is near the tween program as well as having great access to guest services and the restaurants.

The Fantasy is a newer ship--about 3 years old now. She is much bigger and has a normal passenger load of 4000. She is absolutely beautiful with all the bells and whistles, very high tech. She has more cabin options.

No, one ship is not better or worse than the other; they are different. Personally, I prefer the Magic, but I'm not a 13 year old. There is more for a teen/tween to do on the Fantasy. (mini golf, teen spa, midship detective agency, etc.)

On your dates, the Magic goes to Castaway Cay and Port Canaveral (day at Disney World included...you could opt to do Kennedy Space Center on your own). Western is Grand Cayman, Cozumel, and Castaway Cay. Based on that alone, I'd probably choose the Western. If you wanted a day at Disney World, you could add that to your vacation at either the beginning or end!

But...in all fairness, looking at your total situation, I'd do the Fantasy. And we celebrated my daughter's 13th with a cruise on the Magic (before the Fantasy was launched). I can give you some hints on that too.

The Magic launched in 1998 and is the first DCL ship. She underwent a major "reimagination" process about 2 years ago and is in great shape. A normal passenger load is 2500 with a max of 2700. The oceanview cabins on the Magic are on decks 1 and 2....which you obviously don't consider to be a decent floor. I'm not sure what you base this on' date=' never having been on the ship. I've stayed on both decks on the Magic and there is nothing wrong with either one. Deck 1 is very quiet as there are few guest cabins there, and very convenient on port days. Deck 2 has the bigger portholes and is near the tween program as well as having great access to guest services and the restaurants.

 

The Fantasy is a newer ship--about 3 years old now. She is much bigger and has a normal passenger load of 4000. She is absolutely beautiful with all the bells and whistles, very high tech. She has more cabin options.

 

No, one ship is not better or worse than the other; they are different. Personally, I prefer the Magic, but I'm not a 13 year old. There is more for a teen/tween to do on the Fantasy. (mini golf, teen spa, midship detective agency, etc.)

 

 

On your dates, the Magic goes to Castaway Cay and Port Canaveral (day at Disney World included...you could opt to do Kennedy Space Center on your own). Western is Grand Cayman, Cozumel, and Castaway Cay. Based on that alone, I'd probably choose the Western. If you wanted a day at Disney World, you could add that to your vacation at either the beginning or end!

 

But...in all fairness, looking at your total situation, I'd do the Fantasy. And we celebrated my daughter's 13th with a cruise on the Magic (before the Fantasy was launched). I can give you some hints on that too.[/quote']

 

Thanks, and yes tips on celebrating her birthday would be great.

 

I like to stay on a higher deck, not sure why actually but when ever we cruise I like midship lowest I have ever stayed in deck 5, I am more concerned about the smoothness of the cruise, worried lower would make me sick, I could be wrong. We have done WDW numerous times so the ports on the Fantasy seem better for us, plus my DH like port days vs sea days. Thanks again for the tips and keep them coming!

Thanks, and yes tips on celebrating her birthday would be great.

 

I like to stay on a higher deck, not sure why actually but when ever we cruise I like midship lowest I have ever stayed in deck 5, I am more concerned about the smoothness of the cruise, worried lower would make me sick, I could be wrong. We have done WDW numerous times so the ports on the Fantasy seem better for us, plus my DH like port days vs sea days. Thanks again for the tips and keep them coming!

I think the rule of thumb is, the lower the deck the lesser the seasickness.

e.g.

http://traveltips.usatoday.com/location-cruise-ship-seasickness-109329.html

Thanks, and yes tips on celebrating her birthday would be great.

 

I like to stay on a higher deck, not sure why actually but when ever we cruise I like midship lowest I have ever stayed in deck 5, I am more concerned about the smoothness of the cruise, worried lower would make me sick, I could be wrong. We have done WDW numerous times so the ports on the Fantasy seem better for us, plus my DH like port days vs sea days. Thanks again for the tips and keep them coming!

The motion is least at the center of gravity of the ship. This is midship near the water line....so actually, the chance of motion sickness is less on the lower decks!

OK, there are not a lot of teens on board at this time of year. While you can purchase DCL birthday decorations, they are pricey and not all that great IMHO. What I did was to bring my own decorations for the door in lots of pink and purple--a sign saying "Happy 13th Birthday," etc. It got LOTS of attention from the little girls on the floor, with 5 year old kids asking her if she was the birthday girl, etc. Very cute. Decorations must be attached magnetically ONLY. Get a button from Guest Services (or even ask at the terminal). It will say either "It's my Birthday" or "I'm Celebrating" depending on what they have available. You can get this at dinner, but better to have it all day. She will get a birthday dessert and singing in the dining room. Since embarkation day is her birthday, go to "Dining Changes" location (noted on your Welcome Aboard Navigator that you can get in the terminal) and talk to the head servers there to be sure that they'll have her celebration ready to go on the first night. DO NOT buy into any stories like "we celebrate all birthdays on X day." That is a lie from a lazy member of the serving team.

My daughter is 13 (going on 14 in September) We have sailed on Fantasy several times and she enjoys the teen club Edge. They have cruise counselers and so many activities that the first thing she does is download the cruise app and decide which activities she wants to do! :) We have stayed on decks 5,6,7,8 and 9 at mid or forward and have had very smooth sailing. Except for the one cruise when we had some choppy waters for a brief time. The good news is that when you sail in October you are at the tail end of hurricane season. :) I live in Orlando ( half an hour from the Mouse house) The weather around town is still warm in October but the parks are relatively calm during that period. I think if you have been to Disney before to take the journey and explore new places. Mexico and the Caymans are awesome. :) You can purchase a cake to be served at dinner ( ordered during your planning period) You could also order a birthday celebration package which will have your stateroom decorated. Again during pre online planning.

I have never been on the Magic, but I love the Fantasy. Can't wait to be back on in 67 days!!

I decorated our stateroom for my husbands bday last year. All the walls and ceiling in the cabin are magnetic. I went to the dollar store and bought decorations and magnets. I did not want to pay the $50+ to have DCL do it for me. They also sang happy birthday at dinner and gave him a pin.

From what you described, We would recommend the DCL Fantasy!

Seek out a cabin on a deck that has cabins both above and below to minimize the possibility of bothersome noise. You don't really want the pool deck or game room, etc. above your room (from our personal family experience).

From what you described, We would recommend the DCL Fantasy!

 

Seek out a cabin on a deck that has cabins both above and below to minimize the possibility of bothersome noise. You don't really want the pool deck or game room, etc. above your room (from our personal family experience).

While, in general, this is good information, I'd like to point out it's not always true.

We had a deck 10 room on the Fantasy (located beneath the Arrcade/Nemo Splash pool and entrance to Cabanas). It was at least 300 times quieter than the room we had on deck 9 (with rooms above and below).

Now, I'll give you that the issues with the deck 9 room can happen on any cruise, on any deck, they all seem to have focused on that particular area of our cruise. We had connecting rooms on either side of us (not our party, we were just a single room). And one of those connecting rooms also, apparently had people in the next (adjoining room). On the Fantasy, all the verandah dividers on deck 9 can open, so both sets of connecting rooms had opened their verandahs, and it seemed that the kids just LOOOOOOVED to run laps through the connecting doors and verandahs for hours. Plus, one side, there was a child that seemed to take great enjoyment over jumping off the bed/couch/whatever and screaming while doing so.

That, added to the group on deck 10 who felt that running foot races in the hallways was the only way to get anywhere, made our room quite noisy.

Just a head's up.

My daughter is 13 (going on 14 in September) We have sailed on Fantasy several times and she enjoys the teen club Edge. They have cruise counselers and so many activities that the first thing she does is download the cruise app and decide which activities she wants to do! :)

The Edge is that "tween" location--ages 11-14. The "teen" location is the Vibe, ages 14-17. Not being picky, but trying to avoid any confusion for OP who is a newbie.

The Edge is that "tween" location--ages 11-14. The "teen" location is the Vibe' date=' ages 14-17. Not being picky, but trying to avoid any confusion for OP who is a newbie.[/quote']

 

Indeed it is. I apologize to the OP if I confused her in any way. :)

That is why we, and others, tend to be "lurkers" - someone asked for advice, for what it might be worth, you make your recommendations and somebody has to jump in and pounce - just to point out an exception.

I think that there are many cruisers here with far more experience to share than I do. After all I am quite new to the board. has a lot of experience and is just being helpful. However, I am fairly new here and have just a few posts under my belt. Perhaps I will just "lurk" awhile longer and if others have already shared their wisdom I will not add my two cents.

I think that there are many cruisers here with far more experience to share than I do. After all I am quite new to the board. has a lot of experience and is just being helpful. However, I am fairly new here and have just a few posts under my belt. Perhaps I will just "lurk" awhile longer and if others have already shared their wisdom I will not add my two cents.

Everyone who has cruised DCL has an experience to share. Please do. Especially if the experience is different than what someone else may have posted. That's how we learn things, by looking at all angles.

We were all new once.

I'm with Shmoo--anyone who has cruised DCL has valid experiences to share. Whether you have cruised once or 50 times, you have had something happen that others have not.

Many times you will see that several of us have been typing replies at the same time (look at the posting times). If one person posts at 1:00 and another post at 1:02, we were likely typing our responses at the same time. And being as correct as possible is not trying to be rude (I promise, I'm basically a nice person!). It is intended to avoid misunderstandings as far as possible.

With 4 ships, it is more difficult than ever to be up to date and correct on everything--and things DO change. We saw changes between 2 B2B cruises! Unless maybe one is a travel agent, I can't think of many people who might have cruised each ship in the last year or two...and there are differences. All the more reason for ALL to contribute their experiences.

Some of us try to be very complete and tell you where our experience is from and/or how long it has been since we have been on whichever ship. For example, I have a lot of cruises, but most have been on the Magic. Yes, I've cruised a few times on the other ships, but again, those vacations were a couple years ago (time flies!). Recently a family member has developed a mobility issue, so I've become far more experience than I ever wanted to be with HA cabins/hotel rooms, etc. Techie has tons of cruises as a CM, but if I'm not mistaken, it was all on one ship. (please correct me if I'm wrong about that). On the other hand, he has lots of information that those of us on the "outside" would never have access to, making him a very valuable resource here. Shmoo has done a bunch of cruises--I don't know her "mix" among the ships. There are a few others who have done a bunch of cruises and spend time on the boards. But there are things that a person with ONE cruise may know that those of us with many may not. That might be because their cruise was last week and this is something new. It may be because none of the rest of us has ever run across that issue.

Everyone has something valuable to contribute. Whether your question or your report of experience, it may help someone else. Please continue to post. And try to remember that most of us are decent people, but it may sometimes seem harsh without facial expressions or vocal tones in our responses.

I'm with Shmoo--anyone who has cruised DCL has valid experiences to share. Whether you have cruised once or 50 times' date=' you have had something happen that others have not.

 

Many times you will see that several of us have been typing replies at the same time (look at the posting times). If one person posts at 1:00 and another post at 1:02, we were likely typing our responses at the same time. And being as correct as possible is not trying to be rude (I promise, I'm basically a nice person!). It is intended to avoid misunderstandings as far as possible.

 

With 4 ships, it is more difficult than ever to be up to date and correct on everything--and things DO change. We saw changes between 2 B2B cruises! Unless maybe one is a travel agent, I can't think of many people who might have cruised each ship in the last year or two...and there are differences. All the more reason for ALL to contribute their experiences.

 

Some of us try to be very complete and tell you where our experience is from and/or how long it has been since we have been on whichever ship. For example, I have a lot of cruises, but most have been on the Magic. Yes, I've cruised a few times on the other ships, but again, those vacations were a couple years ago (time flies!). Recently a family member has developed a mobility issue, so I've become far more experience than I ever wanted to be with HA cabins/hotel rooms, etc. Techie has tons of cruises as a CM, but if I'm not mistaken, it was all on one ship. (please correct me if I'm wrong about that). On the other hand, he has lots of information that those of us on the "outside" would never have access to, making him a very valuable resource here. [b']Shmoo has done a bunch of cruises--I don't know her "mix" among the ships[/b]. There are a few others who have done a bunch of cruises and spend time on the boards. But there are things that a person with ONE cruise may know that those of us with many may not. That might be because their cruise was last week and this is something new. It may be because none of the rest of us has ever run across that issue.

 

Everyone has something valuable to contribute. Whether your question or your report of experience, it may help someone else. Please continue to post. And try to remember that most of us are decent people, but it may sometimes seem harsh without facial expressions or vocal tones in our responses.

Magic - 3 cruises (one B2B)

Wonder - 3 Cruises

Dream - 1 cruise (well, I had to "do" all the ships)

Fantasy - 2 cruises (B2B)

:D

I'm with Shmoo--anyone who has cruised DCL has valid experiences to share. Whether you have cruised once or 50 times' date=' you have had something happen that others have not.

 

Many times you will see that several of us have been typing replies at the same time (look at the posting times). If one person posts at 1:00 and another post at 1:02, we were likely typing our responses at the same time. And being as correct as possible is not trying to be rude (I promise, I'm basically a nice person!). It is intended to avoid misunderstandings as far as possible.

 

With 4 ships, it is more difficult than ever to be up to date and correct on everything--and things DO change. We saw changes between 2 B2B cruises! Unless maybe one is a travel agent, I can't think of many people who might have cruised each ship in the last year or two...and there are differences. All the more reason for ALL to contribute their experiences.

 

Some of us try to be very complete and tell you where our experience is from and/or how long it has been since we have been on whichever ship. For example, I have a lot of cruises, but most have been on the Magic. Yes, I've cruised a few times on the other ships, but again, those vacations were a couple years ago (time flies!). Recently a family member has developed a mobility issue, so I've become far more experience than I ever wanted to be with HA cabins/hotel rooms, etc. Techie has tons of cruises as a CM, but if I'm not mistaken, it was all on one ship. (please correct me if I'm wrong about that). On the other hand, he has lots of information that those of us on the "outside" would never have access to, making him a very valuable resource here. Shmoo has done a bunch of cruises--I don't know her "mix" among the ships. There are a few others who have done a bunch of cruises and spend time on the boards. But there are things that a person with ONE cruise may know that those of us with many may not. That might be because their cruise was last week and this is something new. It may be because none of the rest of us has ever run across that issue.

 

Everyone has something valuable to contribute. Whether your question or your report of experience, it may help someone else. Please continue to post. And try to remember that most of us are decent people, but it may sometimes seem harsh without facial expressions or vocal tones in our responses.[/quote']

 

I appreciate your and anybody's advice! Thank you :D

I think we will probably go with the Fantasy, it sounds like she will have more fun in the teen clubs. Also, my husband will appreciate the more port days, he is not a sit by the pool type of person and he enjoys more ports (feels he gets more for his money :p )

What is a good category or Oceanview rooms to go with, like I said I like midship, any suggestions on which floor to go with?

Can anybody point me to where I can maybe find PDF's of daily activities for past cruises on the same itinerary?

We would fly into Orlando, correct?

I think we will probably go with the Fantasy, it sounds like she will have more fun in the teen clubs. Also, my husband will appreciate the more port days, he is not a sit by the pool type of person and he enjoys more ports (feels he gets more for his money :p )

 

What is a good category or Oceanview rooms to go with, like I said I like midship, any suggestions on which floor to go with?

 

Can anybody point me to where I can maybe find PDF's of daily activities for past cruises on the same itinerary?

 

We would fly into Orlando, correct?

You can find past Navigators (daily activity sheet) here:

http://disneycruiselineblog.com/personal-navigators/

Yes, it's easiest to fly into Orlando.

I know you said you prefer midship rooms, but you also said you prefer a higher deck. I have to toss in a recommendation for the rooms that are forward on Deck 5. Ocean views in front of all the verandahs, if you are looking at a photo of the outside of the ship.

The motion never bothered us up there, and there are some very unique room layouts as a result of the design of the ship... We stayed in 5522 on the Fantasy about a month ago and it was AWESOME!

I know you said you prefer midship rooms, but you also said you prefer a higher deck. I have to toss in a recommendation for the rooms that are forward on Deck 5. Ocean views in front of all the verandahs, if you are looking at a photo of the outside of the ship.

 

The motion never bothered us up there, and there are some very unique room layouts as a result of the design of the ship... We stayed in 5522 on the Fantasy about a month ago and it was AWESOME!

Thank you, do you know what category those rooms are?

My family stayed in 5022 on the Fantasy last year (same room as CruisinBlues, just on the other side). It's a category 8A room (otherwise known on this and other Disney cruise forums as the mini-suite).

There are very few of these rooms and they tend to get booked quite quickly, but if you have the chance to grab one, you should.

The room itself is much, much larger than other rooms of the same category. My understanding is that they originally were intended to be handicapped accessible rooms, and then DCL changed their mind for some reason.

Some of the 8A's are one large square with a support pole in the middle of the room, and others are square shaped, but have a wall separating the bedroom from the rest.

The other thing you should be aware of is that these rooms do not have the split bath, so that may or may not be an issue for you. For us, having all of the extra space was well worth creating a Sheldon Cooper - Morning Ablutions Schedule.

Sheldon Cooper. Can you imagine what a nightmare a cruise with Sheldon would be?

Which airport to fly into depends on where you are flying from and what airlines serve your local airport. DCL transportation is available only from MCO(Orlando). For me, it is easiest to fly Southwest to MCO. I live 20 minutes from my local airport. However, for my sister, it is easiest to fly into Sanford and rent a car (there is no DCL transportation from Sanford). Reason? The nearest airport to her home has no direct flights to Orlando. She would either have to do a connecting flight or drive an hour or so to the "big" airport nearby.

Melborne is another nearby possibility.

If you fly into Orlando, you can rent a car, arrange a private limo/towncar/shuttle, or use DCL transportation. If you use one of the other nearby airports, your options are car rental or private car service.

We LOVE deck 5....and as above 5020/5022 are awesome cabins if you can snag them. But they are forward, not midship

Which airport to fly into depends on where you are flying from and what airlines serve your local airport. DCL transportation is available only from MCO(Orlando). For me' date=' it is easiest to fly Southwest to MCO. I live 20 minutes from my local airport. However, for my sister, it is easiest to fly into Sanford and rent a car (there is no DCL transportation from Sanford). Reason? The nearest airport to her home has no direct flights to Orlando. She would either have to do a connecting flight or drive an hour or so to the "big" airport nearby.

 

Melborne is another nearby possibility.

 

If you fly into Orlando, you can rent a car, arrange a private limo/towncar/shuttle, or use DCL transportation. If you use one of the other nearby airports, your options are car rental or private car service.

 

We LOVE deck 5....and as above 5020/5022 are awesome cabins if you can snag them. But they are forward, not midship[/quote']

 

Thanks! I can easily fly direct into MCO, I am near 3 major airports.