First Cruise!

[Soph and Han's Mom]

Hey All!

After many trips to WDW, we have finally booked our first Disney Cruise! We'll be taking the 3 day cruise to Nassau and Castaway Cay on the Disney Dream in June. Very excited!!

One quick question...our daughters are age 17 and 11 (almost 12 at cruise time). I see that there is a teen club and a tween club. My 11 year old is a very mature 11, and I see her wanting to spend time with her older sister in the teen club. Are the staff super particular about the age classifications? Will my younger daughter not be able to join her sister in the teen club? I just want to be able to let them know so they can plan other activities together if this is a potential 'sticky area'.

Thanks for any info!!

[DizneyRox]

No personal experience, but I've heard they are...

I'm sure you'll love the cruise, we took a break for a few years, but have been cruising the last three years now, another one planned for the summer, and don't miss WDW one bit!!

[Christine]

They are indeed very strict on the ages. Sorry.

Has a great time!! My only warning for a first time cruiser is start saving now- because you will be HOOKED on Disney cruising and will want to make your next one ASAP!!

[Soph and Han's Mom]

Ha! You're not kidding...already looking to book a thanksgiving cruise out of Galveston!

Can't say I'm not bummed about the girls not being able to hang together in the clubs, but I'm sure we'll manage to enjoy ourselves anyway

Can't wait to start making reservations for excursions and such! It looks like I can start in about a month from now. We tried to book a concierge stateroom, but sadly they were gone already. I suppose I can keep looking...I wonder if you're able to upgrade without penalty if a room becomes available?

[Christine]

The service in regular staterooms is impeccable! I don't think you'll be disappointed if it doesn't work out to upgrade to concierge.

And I think the age issue is safety. While your DD is very mature, there are still older boys and girls who maybe aren't as mature in that group. My dd was at the younger age of the tween group last cruise and she heard some things she really ought not have from the older kids. Actually she didn't stay in the clubs much. She and her friend we cruised with did their own thing (movie theater, pool, etc)

[Auroring Good Time]

We were on the Fantasy last week. My son is begging to go back. He pretty much lived in Edge and made a bunch of new friends.

[BrerGnat]

We tried to book a concierge stateroom, but sadly they were gone already. I suppose I can keep looking...I wonder if you're able to upgrade without penalty if a room becomes available?

You can try to do an upgrade at the port. There is a whole method to doing this. You want to arrive as early as possible, then when you are checking in, ask at the desk about Port Upgrades. If there are any staterooms available, you will be directed to another CM at the end of the desk where you can inquire AFTER you complete the check in process. If there are cabins available, you will be given the options and prices. The prices to upgrade at the port are a fraction of the "rack rate" upgrade. There are tales of people being able to upgrade to suites for hundreds of dollars more (instead of thousands).

Be prepared to pay the difference right there with a credit card and if you feel it is a worthy upgrade, you will be charged and issued new cabin keys. We could have upgraded to a Concierge room for our cruise for $600 more total (on a 5 night). We had a category 4D booked at approx 50% discount (military discount), so it would have been a really good deal. In the end, though, we decided to stick with what we had, as we liked our cabin location and we knew there was NO way we would drink $600 worth of free alcohol, plus we'd have to figure in additional tips (for the concierge staff), etc. In the end, our cruise tab was only around $400 (tips and onboard purchases) and we had a fabulous time in our "regular" stateroom. Glad we didn't spend the extra money, as I can't imagine the service being any better than what we got.

[Soph and Han's Mom]

Thanks for all the great input! It's much appreciated. I'm used to being able to plan a trip to WDW in my sleep, but all this cruise business is totally new to me! On one hand it's new and exciting...but there's a little part of me that likes to know what to expect

The main reason we were looking forward to concierge was the beautiful (and quiet looking) deck that they have that seems to be directly above the concierge lounge. I love catching rays and relaxing in the sun, and this looked like a great place to do that (without the stress of having to find a good spot, land 4 loungers together, etc). However, from everything that I'm seeing here, it looks like there are a lot of spaces on board to chose from.

Thanks again for the advise, and I'm sure I'll be looking for more tips between now and June

[JMTStone]

I've been in the same situation. I have an 11 year old and 20 year old daughter.

Now we trust the 20 year old to take the little on around and such but do not want to tie her down.

There was no way for her to go visit in the tween club because we didn't put her as a responsible adult over 18 (our fault).

And everyone's advice is right, they won't let the 11 year old in the older clubs. Very firm.

[FamilyofDisneyFreaks]

I am like you, I can plan park trips in my sleep and plan them for all of my friends. But, this one is throwing me for a loop! I don't know where to start!

[Christine]

So sorry, Kelly, I meant to quote a part of uour post and I edited it instead!! Sorry!!!!
I SO need glasses- my phone is too small!

[Christine]

What I wanted to add was I too have an only child and I let her have check out privelages too. She enjoyed her alone time after a while with the "pack". Just like at home