Get our feet wet - or - JUMP RIGHT IN?

[hulagirl]

Okay veteran cruisers. We saw the DCL special on the travel channel and are seriously thinking about it. We are a couple in our late 30's with 3 little boys who are 3,4, and 9. We have never cruised before but would surely like to at some point. My question is this - Should we get our feet wet with a shorter 3 or 4 day cruise or jump right in with the 7 day cruise? We would like to go this November - is this a bit late to book (in terms of pricing?) Hit me with your best advice. I would love it!
Thanks!

 

[kajohn]

I personally vote for the 7 day. I did take a 4 day on my first cruise which was my senior trip in high school, but all others were 7 day.

My husband's and kids first cruises were all 7 days. I personally think 7 day is the only way to go. The first day is spent trying to learn your way around the ship, and the last day is spent thinking about packing and going home, so if it is three or four days, you really don't have much time, IMHO.

Of course there are tons of people who do love the shorter cruises.

I am also not a fan of the bahamas, so I prefer the itnineraries in the 7 days cruises better.

That being said, I love cruising, and you can't go wrong as long as you are sailing!!!!!!

 

[WDWLVR]

I vote for the 7 day as well. Really gives you time to enjoy everything. With a party of 5 you are going to have to spring for a category 4 (i think) or two adjoining cabins however. If you go for the two you'll have to pay adult fares for 4 people (even the kids) as the first two people in a room pay adult fares.

If you do a search you might some answers. Or post a note asking for options for a family a five - there have been a number here who have done it.

Dreams Unlimited (who sponsors this formum - click on the logo at the top) can also get you pricing for the different options.

Hope you find a date/rooms that work well for you. Enjoy your cruise!

 

[hulagirl]

Another question,
I worry about seasickness. Is it a valid worry or manageable with various medications? I tend to get motion sickness and would be so miserable if we spent all this money on a 7 day and was sick the whole time. What are your thoughts?

 

[disneyeveryyear]

Hula Girl,

We are taking our first family cruise on November 8, 2003. My DH and I have taken one other cruise 13 years ago on NCL.. (Don't even go there)

We decided on the 7 day Western. We chose 7 days because I felt like we wouldn't get enough time to do things on the 3 or 4 day. I also didn't prefer the Bahamas. We chose the Western because we had already done the Eastern before and other than St. Thomas (which was beautiful), we weren't impressed. The Western gave us four new ports that we had never seen. We get two days at sea and four great ports. We have it all!

We also have 5 because my mother is joining us. We chose two Category 9 cabins. One of the kids is in there with her.

They are still offering Early Booking Discounts for this cruise I know.

Think about joining us on November 8th. We have a great group who are corresponding on this Board. David has named us the "I Wish I were Ten Again" group.

Hope to see you on our thread soon.

 

[DVC4US]

Hi hulagirl:
I just answered your post about seasickness on another thread.

As far as which cruise to take, I agree with everyone here the 7 day is the way to go. We have been on all three and I think the 3 & 4 day crusies are to short and I agree with the others, I was not impressed with the Bahamas. But, like I said on the other post, if you are really concerned about seasickness you could take the 4 day and try it out first.

I do not think it is to late to book for November but you may not be paying the lowest fares. It just depends on how booked that specific cruise happens to be at the time you try to make a reservation.

I think you will have a great time. We really enjoyed the 7 day in March and we are going again next March.
LeiLani

 

[kajohn]

I get motion sickness, at the drop of a hat, constant nausea. However, if I take a Bonine every morning, I don't get it at all! I take one the morning before we sail, and then every day the rest of the week. I have no side effects from this medication.

I gave my boys who had never sailed a tiny piece of dramamine the first day, (told them it was a vitamin, didn't want them to even know sea sickness was a possibility). They never even commented about the ships movement so I didn't medicate them any more. They said after the cruise that they never even noticed the ship move!

There are a few times the ship has hit very rough seas, and there were many reports of sea sickness, but it was a very short duration, i.e. one day or evening, not the whole week.

I wouldn't worry too much about it. You might try doing a search for sea sickness, there have been many threads about how people deal with it.

 

[skoi]

We haven't cruised yet, and never had. We originally booked a 4 day for Sept. 2003 because we were worried about the kids not liking it, seasickness, etc. After reading this board, and looking at everyone's pictures, then looking at Passporter, we switched to the Western because 4 days didn't seem like enough time.

Of course if one or more of us hates it, we'll be sorry we didn't go with the shorter one. Good luck deciding.

Julie

 

[hulagirl]

Leilani,
Thanks for both of your posts. We are going to have a tough time deciding. For me, to be honest, it would be a nobrainer if it weren't for my fear of being sick the whole time - I'd definitely go for the 7 day.

I appreciate everyone's responses and I did a search on sea sickness and came up with alot.

Disneyeveryyear,
Thanks for the invite! I will head over to your thread if we decide to go. (Then again, I'll probably head over there anyway!)

Can you guys explain the alt="0"... thing I've been seeing in alot of threads?

 

[tkd lisa]

Sounds like you had the same concerns I did before our first trip (5/11 western last year). We did the 7 day western first, then a 4 day this January. I fully recommend the 7 day for all the reasons stated above.

You say you tend to get motion sick, not that you always do. That sounds like me. I sometimes get sick in a car (particularly in the backseat, or if I have to look down a lot), and occasionally on a simulator type ride, but I don't always get sick. I took a dramamine II (generic form is Bonine), and didn't get sick on the cruise ship at all. We did take a small boat fishing in Cozumel and I got sick there big time! Took another Dramamine when we got back on the Magic, slept an hour or so, but didn't really feel good again until the next morning.

I'd say that stay off small boats, take a dramamine II each day and you'll be fine!

 

[Jules1]

Go for the 7-day. The kids will love it, and so will you! 4 days is barely enough to get to know your way around the ship. Check out allseastravel.com for pricing.

 

[SINK]

Although 7 nighter is awesome, book the 3 nighter first. Because, once you've done the 7, it's really hard to go back to the 3/4 unless you do the 3/4 back to back.

3 nighter is way to short. On the first day, you get pretty busy making the Palo reservations, checking the children to the Clubs/Lab, and attending the Emergency drill. Then on to Dinner and Show. Second day you get to unwind, then on the third day, Castaway Cays. After getting back onboard from CC, you would feel the trip was way to short and wanted to stay longer on the ship.

Having said this, 3 nighter contains the best of everything (the shows, entertainment, and dining) from the seven nighters.

 

[thedisneymom]

We did the 4 day last year because we had never cruised before and were afraid of motion sickness. My daughter and I were slightly dizzy the first night at dinner. I also felt it while getting ready for bed. I put sea bands on and went to sleep. We docked every day and I'm not sure if it helped. the seas were moderate and it rained everyday while sailing. We loved the cruise so much we are going on the 7 day this summer. I'm also concerned because we are at sea two and a half days. I'm packing children's and adult dramimine as well as sea bands for all. Although I'm sure we won't need it. Don't worry! I get sick if we drive around the block, and I was fine. The best advice I had was from our waiter Gede who told me to just relax and don't think about it. I took his advice and ate practically every dessert on the menu. Go for it! Book Now!

 

[jlawall]

JUMP RIGHT IN!

 

[imgoingtodisney]

I cruised on NCL 4 nights Dec 01.
DH & DS10.5 have never been on a cruise. This Nov we are booked on the Western.

 

[Verandah Man]

In November 2002 after a weeks stay at Vero Beach, we took a ride up the coast of Florida on a Thursday afternoon. We made a stop near Port Canaveral and saw the Wonder in port. We had our information in the car about the cruises and were trying to decide if we should go with a short cruise or the 7 day cruise all the way home to NJ (of course after lunch at Dixie Crossroads).

Anyway, when we arrived home, we called and made ressies for a 7day Eastern, we thought about the same things you did, but decided, the 3 and 4 day wouldn't be long enough, and just incase, we bought enough Bonine for each of us to take one per day if needed. My DW can't go on hardly any rides at Disney because she has a weak stomach, but she is sooooooooooo excited about going on our cruise in August!!!

So, we are jumping right in!!!

Andy

 

[WDWLVR]

Andy,

With your enthusiasm I know you will enjoy your 7 day Eastern cruise! We sure enjoyed ours back in May of 2001.

Have you planned what excursions you are doing (either with Disney or on your own).

If you have time take the Paradise Point Tram. It is right near the dock and you get some awesome pictures of the bay and the Magic from up there.

 

[Verandah Man]

Originally posted by WDWLVR
Andy,

With your enthusiasm I know you will enjoy your 7 day Eastern cruise! We sure enjoyed ours back in May of 2001.

Have you planned what excursions you are doing (either with Disney or on your own).

If you have time take the Paradise Point Tram. It is right near the dock and you get some awesome pictures of the bay and the Magic from up there.

Hi Mary,

As of now, the only excursion we really decided on was the Paradise Point Tram, I went to their website and saw some of the photos. I have to get there. We just haven't really decided on any other excurions just yet. Our main objective is to get my mom away from her intense stress level at home, and go and "RELAX," that's what we liked about going to VB last November, it was just so relaxing, and we had a GREAT time there!!!

Andy

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Originally posted by hulagirl
Another question,
I worry about seasickness. Is it a valid worry or manageable with various medications? I tend to get motion sickness and would be so miserable if we spent all this money on a 7 day and was sick the whole time. What are your thoughts?

I tend to get motion sickness in moving vehicles, but never felt ill from movement on either of our cruises. On our last night during our last cruise, we had rough waters, but I was okay. I take Dramamine before our DCL bus ride down to Port as a preventative measure. I definitely felt more ill on the BUS ride than on the ship.

Do a search on our boards and you will find MANY opinions about medications and wrist bands as well as best spot on the ship for less movement.

BTW --- JUMP RIGHT IN!!!! 7-day is definitely the way to start! That's what we did. Our first was a 7-day Eastern and our second was 4-day. I don't think we'll ever do the 3-day (much too short).

Good luck!

 

[MrsPotatoHead]

hulagirl - I say jump right in and go for the 7 day! We have never cruised before either and we had a tough time deciding between a 4-night or a 7-night as we started thinking about planning a cruise (we knew that a 3-night would be too short for us). I was VERY worried about sea-sickness, so I was leaning toward the 4-night. Then I looked at the itinerary for the 7-night western and really wanted to go to those ports! So I just said, okay, let's do it, let's go for the 7-night! We leave next Saturday and I'm so glad we chose the 7-night cruise!

That being said, I still have some concerns about sea-sickness. I suffer from motion sickness VERY easily. But then I remind myself that I never get carsick or airsick as long as I take my Bonine beforehand. So I'm going with the assumption that Bonine will work just fine for me on the ship as well. The only thing I can't take is riding anything that spins (like the teacups at the Magic Kingdom), even if I've taken Bonine. So I figure as long as the captain doesn't start doing donuts out in the middle of the sea, then I'll be okay! LOL!

Susan