Best time to Cruise

bdash1400 · #1 (**permalink**) 08-12-2006, 05:30 PM

I'm looking to take the family on Disney Cruise but wanted to know which month would be better, September, Octomber or November. I want to pull the boys out of school for as few days as possible. If we go in November I would like to go the week after Thanksgiving. We want to do the western caribbean cruise. Which month is the best time to do a Disney Cruise?

Last edited by bdash1400; 08-13-2006 at 11:24 PM.

ktboo0702 · #2 (**permalink**) 08-16-2006, 10:50 AM

I'm not sure about this. How are the hurricaines in this area during the different times or is it even an issue? Nothing would ruin a cruise more than getting caught in the middle of a Hurricaine! I have no experience in cruises what so ever (very unfortunately. ) so I'm no help... just some thoughts.

SpeedFigure · #3 (**permalink**) 08-16-2006, 04:05 PM

I gone twice in November and once the week of Halloween. I think November is a great time to go. It's still hot, but not overbaring and plus it's cheaper. Also, it's low cruise season so the islands aren't very crowded. It's the end of hurrican season too.

head mouse · #4 (**permalink**) 08-17-2006, 01:21 PM

November is best IMO. less crowd

Govac24 · #5 (**permalink**) 08-18-2006, 06:06 AM

We have cruised in both early May and July. Both are beautiful times to cruise... but when is there a bad time????

bdash1400 · #6 (**permalink**) 08-19-2006, 10:26 PM

I have to agree, there’s no bad time for anything Disney. It's hard living in a house when you’re the only big Disney fan, but I do get to do some Disney vacations. We finally decided on the month for our cruise. We’re doing either the first or last week of October. We finally told the boy about the trip and now their friends want to go. I was surprised they were that excited about going. Now come the fun part, picking the week and the room. (There's so little time and so much to do.) I thing the thing that convinced my wife was her friend’s neighbor, who is also not a big Disney fan, took a Disney 4 day cruise and loved it. She’s planning on booking a 7 day cruise next year. I’ll have to see which week has the better rooms available.

thisisthelife · #7 (**permalink**) 08-21-2006, 01:29 AM

We have cruised Disney twice , the first time was on November 3rd and the weather was wonderful the whole time. Last year went over Halloween and it seemed to be more rainy, Its give or take but we will do it again over the same time year to year because of the threat of hurricanes are lower at that time and you can usually get bettter pricing. If it is before Thanksgiving. Either way you will love the cruise... the boat is .beautiful the food and service was fabulous both times and we also kept are same server both times. (Pearl). The rooms were so big that you didnt feel as though you need a suite. Disney does the best job! and I cant even rave enough about the kid programs...
I hope this helps with your decision.

bdash1400 · #8 (**permalink**) 08-21-2006, 04:03 PM

Will the kids need any money to play any of the games? I know we will need to play for the on shore trips, but I'm not sure how much I should set aside for other actives.

thisisthelife · #9 (**permalink**) 08-22-2006, 06:51 PM

Yes you will need money to spend for the games in the arcade, that is not included. but...there are soooo many activities for your children to do hour upon hour for every age level they will not be bored... I had to drag my kids (boy 8 girl 7) out of the activity clubs for at least two hours a day because if it was up to them they would be there from 9am until 12pm. I actually started feeling guilty because they would rather be there with the friends they made and not us old fogies. ha ha There were a couple of times I actually felt as though we didnt even bring them on the trip. Activities start early in the morning until late at night. It is sorta funny walking around the boat and seeing all these parents with their pagers relaxing and no kids running around because they were all in the clubs.... One of the cruise directors told us the last cruise had something like a thousand kids on board and you would have never known.
Other than the arcade I cant recall anything else entertainment wise that you would need money for.
I hope I have been able to help

ladylilo · #10 (**permalink**) 08-23-2006, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bdash1400

Will the kids need any money to play any of the games? I know we will need to play for the on shore trips, but I'm not sure how much I should set aside for other actives.

The arcade games are not free.

You have to purchase a token card using your on-board "key to the World" charge card. You cannot buy these tokens with cash. The charge will go on to your room total charge. You do not use cash for anything on board - everything is charged to your room.

My son, who is a big fan of arcade games, spent very little time in the arcade, although they had a fairly good selection of games.

bdash1400 · #11 (**permalink**) 08-30-2006, 01:47 PM

I see that the ship docks around 8am, what time do you acutally get off of the ship and how long does it take to get to the airport?

ladylilo · #12 (**permalink**) 08-30-2006, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bdash1400

I see that the ship docks around 8am, what time do you acutally get off of the ship and how long does it take to get to the airport?

We were off the ship by about 8.30 if I remember correctly. I don't know how long it takes to get to the airport, but its about an hour's drive to Orlando so that might be some guide.

bdash1400 · #13 (**permalink**) 08-30-2006, 04:53 PM

Thanks, I was planning on making the plane reservation separate from the cruise itself so I wanted to make sure we made the flight home. I started looking into an afternoon flight but that got us home a lot later then I would have liked. It sounds like I can make an 11:30 am flight back to MD with out any problems.

Joe and Angie A · #14 (**permalink**) 10-24-2006, 11:33 PM

we are from north dakota so we like to go in december to get a little break from the cold up here. been down there 6 times in winter and 4 in summer months and would definately prefer winter. Cruising is fun however our two cruises were both in january.

DisneyCruiseFan · #15 (**permalink**) 11-04-2006, 03:39 PM

As someone who lives in Florida and accustomed to dealing with the hurricanes, they rarely come as late in the year as October and November. I've sailed 5 out of my 7 times with Disney Cruise Line in either October or November and find it to be the absolutely best time of the year. The rainy season is typically over by mid to late October and the weather is beautiful. I just returned from the 3-night cruise on Oct 22nd and the weather was perfect... not a drop of rain and temperatures in the upper 80's/low 90's the entire trip.

Last year I went for the week that included Halloween. What a great time to sail. Disney goes out of their way to include trick-or-treating on the ship for the little ones by setting up stations for the kids to go around to.

One other tip... November 18th is Mickey Mouse's birthday. Two years ago we sailed out on Mickey's birthday and it was a blast. They made a huge deal about it. Everyone signed a card and it was given to Mickey that evening at the end of the show.

Hope this helps. Enjoy your cruise!!