[donaldschick]

So, we are going on our first Disney Cruise in 2011 and I am so excited(even if it is until 2011)! Does anyone have any suggestions? Do they go to Jamiaca? Which islands should we go to? I know that we will be doing the 7 day sea because my dad said the only way he would go if he stays on the boat for 7 days and that refused to do the land/sea package!So anyway is the ship huge? Which ship should we choose? Are any new disney ships coming out before 2011? Please Help! Any suggestions would be helpful? Also, how is the food on the ship? Do they serve lobster?

[2nd Star]

Congrats!! We are going on our first Disney cruise in Oct...I think cruising is great! The Magic does the 7 night cruises and there should be a new ship by 2011. On the itineraries up now there isn't a stop in Jamaica. Have you been on a cruise before? Have you checked out the podcast on the Disney cruise website? Disney Cruise Line Podcast Hope you find what you are looking for.

[donaldschick]

Originally Posted by 2nd Star

Congrats!! We are going on our first Disney cruise in Oct...I think cruising is great! The Magic does the 7 night cruises and there should be a new ship by 2011. On the itineraries up now there isn't a stop in Jamaica. Have you been on a cruise before? Have you checked out the podcast on the Disney cruise website? Disney Cruise Line Podcast Hope you find what you are looking for.

No, I haven't checked out the podcast but I will. Yes, we have cruised before but never on disney! We finally talked my dad into going on a Disney Cruise, something the rest of my family has been wanting to do for years! So, I am so glad we finally talked him into it! We've been to Jamiaca,virgin islands,Cancun, and the Bahamas! I think this will be my 6th cruise! My brother-n-law has never been a vacation cruise but he was in the navy and has traveled all around the world! My niece and nephew's very first cruise though, by the way, do children have to have passports?

[2nd Star]

I think kids do...we don't have any so I am not 100%. I want to go Jamaica someday.

[inluvwithdisney]

Disney Cruises are AMAZING!! Nothing like them!! We have done 2- 4 night cruises and are going on a 7 night in June! We are doing St. Thomas/St John and St Marteen! I am very excited!

I do not believe that any Disney cruises go to Jamaica. Eastern cruises go to St Croix, Tortola, St Marteen, St. Thomas. Western cruises go to Mexico ports, and grand cayman I think. Anyone else may know differently, but I think that is their itinerary.

Anyway, I will be doing a trip report when we get back about the islands we are visiting. that might be helpful! I am soooo excited!!!

Congrats to you too! happy planning!

[donaldschick]

Originally Posted by inluvwithdisney

Disney Cruises are AMAZING!! Nothing like them!! We have done 2- 4 night cruises and are going on a 7 night in June! We are doing St. Thomas/St John and St Marteen! I am very excited!

I do not believe that any Disney cruises go to Jamaica. Eastern cruises go to St Croix, Tortola, St Marteen, St. Thomas. Western cruises go to Mexico ports, and grand cayman I think. Anyone else may know differently, but I think that is their itinerary.

Anyway, I will be doing a trip report when we get back about the islands we are visiting. that might be helpful! I am soooo excited!!!

Congrats to you too! happy planning!

Cool, tell me all about the food when you get back!?

[iluvwdw]

CONGRATS! I have heard nothing but WONDERFUL things about Disney Cruises! As a veteran cruiser myself, I cannot WAIT to go on a Disney Cruise one day! We might go in 2010 or 2011. And there might very well be new itineraries by the time you are cruising!

HAPPY PLANNING!!!!

[FutureMrsJonas]

I went on a Disney Cruise and I had to have a passport so I would assume that the kids would have to.

[LittleMissMagic]

Having done both Eastern and Western, I recommend the Western itenerary. It feels more "caribbean." I don't really care for Nassau, St. Thomas, or St. Martin. Out of the three, St. Martin is the nicest. The Western itenerary includes Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, and Castaway Cay. I find these ports to be more tourist (especially kid) friendly.

Excursions... I don't necessarily recommend doing an excursion at every port. That adds up fast (not to mention you have to get up and off the ship early for most excursions).

For Jamaica, I highly recommend Mystic Mountain, a brand new tourist location with Jamaican Bobsled (rollercoaster-like ride), zip-line (the best zip-line course I've seen in the caribbean), a pool with a slide (this is included with all excursions), a scenic 15-minute chair lift (total of 30 minutes roundtrip... you can purchase this alone, but it is a better deal to purchase either bobsledding or zip-lining), and a restaurant (but it's better just to eat on the ship where you won't have to pay extra). The staff is very friendly and professional. We were very impressed. The excursion was well worth the money. I also hear that the falls are wonderful (but you need tennis shoes for this). I recommend booking an excursion here because in Jamaica, you really don't want to get off the beaten path. Only shop in locations your ship recommends, and don't take a cab (they'll probably tell you this several times).

For Grand Cayman, I would recommend some tour that takes you by millionaire row and ****. There's also a lot of shopping in Grand Cayman. This is a port where you don't need an excursion.

And Cozumel... beware of run-down "luxury" resorts, where most excursions take you. Cozumel was hit by a storm a few years ago, and is still recovering. I've done the Zip Line Adventure park... we were expecting a zip-line through the jungle... no, it was a zip-line between rock walls. It was a lot of fun, though. It also includes snorkling... I'm not a fan of snorkling. There weren't many fish here... or even pretty coral. The guides toss out food to get them to swim up to you. You're also welcome to stay at the resort as long as you want, and you get one free drink (do not get anything over ice... they'll warn you this about this, as well). They have a pool, but it was FREEZING. The existing part of the resort was actually pretty nice. We've also done a clear kayak adventure at another resort... that was more of a disappointment. On the brochure, they had a picture of two lovely wicker chairs... which were the only two wicker chairs at the entire resort! Yes... their beach chairs were luxuriously plastic. The beach was not a beach, but a bunch of rocks. It was overcrowded and our tour kept getting delayed. The equipment was actually in good shape, though. The kayaks were really clear, and we saw a lot of fish (though they were lured by food that the guide would hide and pretend not to have... our guide was a moron). There was also snorkling... but we had to walk a mile to get to it, then walk a mile back. Our moron guide swam fast and left a few of us behind. Like at the other resort, you could stay as long as you wanted, but we wanted to get the heck out of there (we also had drink vouchers... and got extras when we complained about our wait times... and there was fruit. I was a little worried, but I ended up eating an apple because I was hungry). The pool there was also freezing (not to mention dirty).

If you're leaning towards Eastern, I can give you some more details about those ports, but for right now I'm just going to say do not do snuba in St. Thomas.

Also... if you're hoping for some dolphin interaction, I actually recommend not booking this with the ship (and do not do in Nassau). Most dolphin encounters include sitting in 4' water while dolphins swim up to you. You'll want to really do some online research to make sure you get the dolphin experience you're hoping for. I sat in a hot tub with a father who booked his family's dolphin encounter in Jamaica online, and he was very pleased with himself (they got to actually swim with the dolphins). These dolphin excursions are very pricey, so you'll want to be sure you get what you want.

[donaldschick]

Also... if you're hoping for some dolphin interaction, I actually recommend not booking this with the ship (and do not do in Nassau). Most dolphin encounters include sitting in 4' water while dolphins swim up to you. You'll want to really do some online research to make sure you get the dolphin experience you're hoping for. I sat in a hot tub with a father who booked his family's dolphin encounter in Jamaica online, and he was very pleased with himself (they got to actually swim with the dolphins). These dolphin excursions are very pricey, so you'll want to be sure you get what you want.[/quote]

Thanks for info about the dolphins, because this is something that I want to do on one of the islands, mainly, because I've never done it before. I most definetly want to go snorkeling also/ Any suggestions which island to do this on?

[iluvwdw]

Originally Posted by donaldschick

Also... if you're hoping for some dolphin interaction, I actually recommend not booking this with the ship (and do not do in Nassau). Most dolphin encounters include sitting in 4' water while dolphins swim up to you. You'll want to really do some online research to make sure you get the dolphin experience you're hoping for. I sat in a hot tub with a father who booked his family's dolphin encounter in Jamaica online, and he was very pleased with himself (they got to actually swim with the dolphins). These dolphin excursions are very pricey, so you'll want to be sure you get what you want.

Thanks for info about the dolphins, because this is something that I want to do on one of the islands, mainly, because I've never done it before. I most definetly want to go snorkeling also/ Any suggestions which island to do this on?[/quote]

If you are going to Nassau, I highly recommend Stuart's Cove Snorkel Adventure. When I stayed at the Atlantis one year, we did this and it was great! It gets rave reviews on other Cruise boards I have been to as well.

[donaldschick]

Do they do snorkeling on their private island? How is their private island?

[iluvwdw]

Originally Posted by donaldschick

Do they do snorkeling on their private island? How is their private island?

They actually take you to three locations. It was GREAT! One stop was snorkeling while sharks were eating way down below. I didn't get off the boat that stop.