Savvy Disney Cruise Tips, February 2013

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Sting Ray Adventure at Castaway Cay with Disney Dream in background

When deciding where I wanted to take my family on vacation this past February,  I made the decision to take a Disney Cruise.  I had heard great things about the Cruise Line from friends and colleagues and decided to take the plunge.  I priced out various dates of the year and settled on February because the prices were lower than other times of the year, and I knew we would want to escape the Winter weather. I also took advantage of a $50 On Board Credit for using my Disney Visa Card. 

I booked the cruise six months ahead of sailing and had no problem getting the stateroom I wanted (Deluxe Family Stateroom with Balcony).  You do need to book as much as nine months ahead for popular sailings such as Spring Break, Summer or Holiday sailings.  Pretty much any time kids are out of school, Disney Cruises fill up quickly and the price is usually higher.  Also, it is important to go to your reservation on the Disney Cruise website about 75 days before your sailing to schedule Dining and Spa Reservations, as well as a time to board the ship on day of embarkation. You can also fill out all of your Check In Documents to save you time when you get to the Cruise Terminal.

After booking the stateroom, I decided not to book our air through Disney, although you can.  I saved a few dollars booking air on my own, but it is definitely worth it to check Disney's fares when buying airfare.  Our cruise was leaving on a Sunday from Port Canaveral.  Orlando Airport (MCO airport code) is the closest international airport to Port Canaveral.  We flew into Orlando on Sunday morning, although I recommend flying in the day before your cruise departs in case there is a problem with weather or equipment.  We rolled the dice and were lucky.  You also need to confirm the times you have to be at the Port to embark the ship and what time you need to book your flight home when you disembark.  For us, we got to Port early to embark on the ship around 12:00, and we scheduled our flight out of Orlando after 11:30 a.m. as per Disney's suggestion.

Dining at Palo Italian Restaurant while kids were enjoying Kids Club

I also didn't choose to book the Disney supplied Ground Transportation because I didn't like the idea of riding in a motor coach from Orlando airport to the Port, which takes about 45 minutes.  I chose a company called Happy Limo for our transportation, and it was less expensive for our family of four than the Disney motor coach.  We also were able to stop at a store for drinks to take on the cruise on the way since we had private transportation.  This also saved us money versus buying all our drinks on board.  We had a refrigerator in our stateroom.  Some staterooms do not.  In this case, you can use your ice bucket to keep your drinks cool.

Once you get to Disney's Cruise Terminal, some cast members will take your luggage and you won't see it again for a few hours.    It is important to pack a separate bag of anything you would want to enjoy the pool deck (bathing suits, sunscreen, sunglasses, etc.) because once you check in at Port, most people head up to the upper deck for playing in the pools and on the Aqua Duck (water slide in a tunnel on the very top of ship).  I would recommend changing into your suits in the Cruise Terminal because there is not much space in the public bathrooms to change on board. We got on the ship early and loved enjoying the water slides, the pools and Nemo's Splash Pad. Our daughter loved the Aqua Duck.  She was able to ride is several times with no line this first day on the ship. You can also use your time at the Cruise Terminal to register your kids for Kids Club which also saves you some time.  Once you get on the ship, there is plenty of food so bring your appetite.

Another suggestion I have is to take a lanyard with you to keep your Key to the World card in. This card is your room key and your charge card while you are on the ship.  There are many times you leave your purse in the in-room safe and don't have a place to easily keep the card.

Fish Extender purchased on Ebay

Once you get in your stateroom, you will notice along the hallways that people have what is called a Fish Extender by their stateroom doors.  Fish Extenders are pockets of fabric that hang by the door. If you have one by your stateroom, your children will get little prizes in their pockets throughout the cruise.  Some of the prizes I put in personally.  I purchased some bubbles, puzzles, etc. from the Dollar Store before I left to put in their pockets.  But there were other people filling up our pockets too. I purchased my Fish Extender on Ebay.

Another suggestion is to bring any Disney gear you already have from home (Ears, shirts, etc.)  I found that this kept our kids from asking for items that they were selling on board.  I also loaded up on pirate gear from home since I knew Disney had a Pirates of the Caribbean party one night on each of their Caribbean sailings.  This saved us some money as well.

Atlantis Port Adventure

Ports of Call Information- We traveled to Nassau and Disney's own Castaway Cay.   We spent a day at each of these Ports.  For Nassau, we took the kids to Atlantis' Aquadventure.  The kids loved it but it is one of the most expensive excursions if purchased through Disney.  I was lucky enough to get a good rate as a Travel Agent, so we took a local taxi ($16 from Port to Atlantis for our family of four).  But my suggestion is to ask your Travel Agent to check on room rates for Atlantis and it may be less expensive to book a room at Atlantis for the day and take advantage of the Aquadventure, especially if you have a family of four or more.  Castaway Cay was amazing and a lot bigger than I expected.  Definitely take the tram if you have smaller kids because they will not want to walk.  The weather was beautiful in each Port of Call for us.  The high was around 75 degrees.  It was a little cold in the water for me, but my kids didn't seem to mind.

All in all, we had a wonderful time on the Disney Cruise.  It was truly a Dream.