2 Night Disney Cruise Questions

Hello Everyone,

I am considering booking my 1st Disney Cruise onboardthe Wonder setting sail September 15th 2017 Departing San Diego,CA. This trip will be a 1stMommy and Daughter trip to celebrate my daughter’s 5th Birthday(Sheturn 5 the day before we set sail), big brother is graduating middle schoolthis year and has a lot of activities and trips scheduled including a trip toWashington, DC. I figured this trip for just the two of us would be awesome sinceshe will not be able to take part in my son’s end of year activities. A hugebonus for us is there is no need to purchase airfare.

We live in Los Angeles and would most likely drive to SanDiego the night before the cruise and visit family. Since it is a two day cruise I plan to parkat the port if possible. The followingare questions for anyone who has sailed on such a short itinerary with Disney:

1.) Will there be a Pirate Nite?

2.) Will there be a Princess Meet and Greet? If, yesis there an additional cost? When can you sign up?

3.) Will the kids club open on the first night?

4.) Will we get to experience Animators Plate?

Any other 2 nite tips will be appreciated.

Thank you

Hello Everyone,

 

I am considering booking my 1st Disney Cruise onboardthe Wonder setting sail September 15th 2017 Departing San Diego,CA. This trip will be a 1stMommy and Daughter trip to celebrate my daughter’s 5th Birthday(Sheturn 5 the day before we set sail), big brother is graduating middle schoolthis year and has a lot of activities and trips scheduled including a trip toWashington, DC. I figured this trip for just the two of us would be awesome sinceshe will not be able to take part in my son’s end of year activities. A hugebonus for us is there is no need to purchase airfare.

 

We live in Los Angeles and would most likely drive to SanDiego the night before the cruise and visit family. Since it is a two day cruise I plan to parkat the port if possible. The followingare questions for anyone who has sailed on such a short itinerary with Disney:

 

1.)Will there be a Pirate Nite?

2.)Will there be a Princess Meet and Greet? If, yesis there an additional cost? When can you sign up?

3.)Will the kids club open on the first night?

4.)Will we get to experience Animators Plate?

 

Any other 2 nite tips will be appreciated.

 

 

Thank you

1)I'm not absolutely certain, but I believe the 2 night cruises still have Pirate night.

2)If there is a Princess Gathering, you book tickets during your online activity booking time. Your window opens (for first time DCL cruisers) at 75 days out. There's no cost for them.

3)Yes. There will Open House hours up until dinnertime, I believe. And then it's secured programming after that.

4)You will be assigned to all 3 dining rooms. In the past, you dine in the 3 MDR on debarkation morning. Don't know if the Animator's Palate show will run, however. There's really not enough time to run it during breakfast, so they probably will not run it at all.

The cruise goes by really fast. You board in the afternoon on day one, have the entire next day to enjoy and then the following day, you are up and off the ship very early. Prioritize what you want to do before you get there. You won't have time to do/see everything.

I've been on a couple 2 nighters out of San Diego and they both had a pirate night. I think you'll also have a Halloween night. So, people will be dressed in full costumes both nights.

I can't answer your other questions since I didn't visit the MDRs or do any character meets on my 2 night cruises.

There is a very small parking lot near the port. It will be full - don't count on it ever. You can prebook parking across the street at the Wyndham hotel. It will also get full, so be sure to book it ASAP. It is literally across the street from the ship. It is the closest parking. I've been parking at Aladdin, which is about a mile away. Aladdin has shuttles, but it's faster for me to walk the mile. If I were traveling with a 5 year old, I'd use their shuttle.

Be aware that this cruise is only 1 1/2 days long. That's REALLY short. And in the past, they have been terribly overpriced on a "per diem" rate.

2/3 of the guests will see the Animator's show at dinner. Even if they attempt to run the show on the final morning, that is a crazy, hectic time and you won't be able to really enjoy it. There is no way to assure that you will be in the dinner group, but you can attach a request to your reservation. There will be a princess gathering IF you are lucky enough to get tickets (as above, book them on line in advance). Again, this activity will only happen once, there is no way to predict the demand.

As above, the OC will have "open house" hours the first afternoon and then begin regular programming at dinner time. I'm guessing that there is no way to do a longer cruise.....

Be aware that this cruise is only 1 1/2 days long. That's REALLY short. And in the past' date=' they have been terribly overpriced on a "per diem" rate.

 

2/3 of the guests will see the Animator's show at dinner. Even if they attempt to run the show on the final morning, that is a crazy, hectic time and you won't be able to really enjoy it. There is no way to assure that you will be in the dinner group, but you can attach a request to your reservation. There will be a princess gathering IF you are lucky enough to get tickets (as above, book them on line in advance). Again, this activity will only happen once, there is no way to predict the demand.

 

As above, the OC will have "open house" hours the first afternoon and then begin regular programming at dinner time. I'm guessing that there is no way to do a longer cruise.....[/quote']

 

Thanks you for reply. I may now look into another type of Birthday Celebration. Perhaps visit Disneyland here at home. I was excited about this particular sailing as it leaves from San Diego. The overall cost is pricey to say the least and the time is limited. There are 3 of us sailing for 7 day on Carnival Vista in December for the same price of a Disney 2-night from San Diego. Perhaps I will plan to cruise Disney a year or so out.

The other thing to consider is that you pay full adult fare for the child when she is the second person in the cabin. I did it for many years. DCL has the best kid programing and best entertainment of any line I've been on, but you really won't get to enjoy much of that on such a short cruise.

Keep looking--sometimes the Mexican cruises out of San Diego go on "special" prices when they don't sell out.

Thanks you for reply. I may now look into another type of Birthday Celebration. Perhaps visit Disneyland here at home. I was excited about this particular sailing as it leaves from San Diego. The overall cost is pricey to say the least and the time is limited. There are 3 of us sailing for 7 day on Carnival Vista in December for the same price of a Disney 2-night from San Diego. Perhaps I will plan to cruise Disney a year or so out.

The Vista is an awesome ship! We've done 4 previous Disney cruises before we boarded the Vista last year and had just as great of a time on her as on our Disney cruises, it was just a different type of great time. We learned we can have fun cruising different lines, at different pricing and that is a good thing!!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

4)You will be assigned to all 3 dining rooms. In the past, you dine in the 3 MDR on debarkation morning. Don't know if the Animator's Palate show will run, however. There's really not enough time to run it during breakfast, so they probably will not run it at all.

If there's one Animator's Palate show on the rotation, it's probably the wall-clips-and-Mickey one as shown on the 4-nights.

Had AP debarkation breakfast on the last trip, and there was a general feeling of sit-down rush and no show.

I've never been on a two day cruise with DCL, But the one thing I can guarantee is that that small amount of time on the ship will leave you wanting for more. :)

Sent from my iPhone using Forums