They are here! (Summer 2025 I mean)

[CeCe0906]

2023 took my oldest granddaughter and niece on a 3 night Wish sailing Nassau/Castaway, ages 10/13. First cruise for everyone, myself included, and decided 3 night, since we didn't know if we would like it or have seasickness issues. Splurged on consierge to offset our newbieness. Did Atlantis swim with the Dolphins, didn't get a cabana, but it worked out fine on Castaway cay. We loved the lounge for bfast, avoiding the chaos and trying to find seats for buffet, enjoyed getting in early for show and the snacks in the lounge and the hosts. I feel I got my money's worth

Well we had a great time, and I promised my other 2 grandkids that summer 2025, I'd take them. So it would be me, my granddaughter that went before, and the 2 younger ones. Summer 2025, they will be 8, 10, and 12. Looking at late July, early August - has to be that date range.

So the new schedule is out, and I'm checking out the itineraries. We enjoyed the Wish, so I thought we'll, we can do the Treasure. See some different shows, but similar lounge set up.

But I looked and, wow the Treasure for the 7 night Eastern Caribbean for 4 people consierge is $22,000! Now I was expecting more than my 3 nights, 3 people Wish trip - but that is NOT in my budget!
I'm not real excited to go back to Nassau, but 4 night Wish is possible, or a similar itinerary on the Dream but Lookout Point instead of Castaway. Also saw a 4 night Magic that was just Lookout Point and Castaway Cay.

I know the Magic is 25 years old- would we be disappointed in a smaller ship when our first experience was the Wish? Maybe the Dream would be better, even if going to Nassau My granddaughter that went last time was looking forward to a longer cruise where she could check out the kids club and hero zone- we were off the ship more than on last time, looking forward to a sea day to explore ship more.

It looks like 4, maayybee 5 day would work budget wise. We are from Texas, I'm disappointed that DCL doesn't cruise from Galveston in the summer time.

Back to the Wish? Or try out Magic or Dream?

 

[Tink1987]

I really need to decide which Alaska cruise to take so thanks so much for all the informative posts on here.

I kinda want to splurge on the 9 night one but as we were travelling internationally I wanted days in Vancouver before and we want to go to Seattle after. Need to check our vacation days and decide if Sitka is more important then Seattle to us - we could still do Seattle after but would be trying to fit things into 3 nights/2 full days, same with Vancouver.

 

[holula]

I really need to decide which Alaska cruise to take so thanks so much for all the informative posts on here.

I kinda want to splurge on the 9 night one but as we were travelling internationally I wanted days in Vancouver before and we want to go to Seattle after. Need to check our vacation days and decide if Sitka is more important then Seattle to us - we could still do Seattle after but would be trying to fit things into 3 nights/2 full days, same with Vancouver.

If it was me I’d pick Sitka, only because Seattle is somewhere you could fairly easily get to for a few days (assuming you’re in the US or Canada.)

Sitka is also a port where you don’t need to do an excursion. We’d booked privately but the seas were pretty rough so it got cancelled so we went into the town and did one of the trails in the forest and just took in the beautiful views.

 

[Flossbolna]

I really need to decide which Alaska cruise to take so thanks so much for all the informative posts on here.

I kinda want to splurge on the 9 night one but as we were travelling internationally I wanted days in Vancouver before and we want to go to Seattle after. Need to check our vacation days and decide if Sitka is more important then Seattle to us - we could still do Seattle after but would be trying to fit things into 3 nights/2 full days, same with Vancouver.

I personally would prefer a vacation that has only two parts not three. The 9 night cruise sounds like a fantastic mix of relaxation and exploration. I would rather tag on one more day in Vancouver than rush to see another city.

 

[pearljammer]

2023 took my oldest granddaughter and niece on a 3 night Wish sailing Nassau/Castaway, ages 10/13. First cruise for everyone, myself included, and decided 3 night, since we didn't know if we would like it or have seasickness issues. Splurged on consierge to offset our newbieness. Did Atlantis swim with the Dolphins, didn't get a cabana, but it worked out fine on Castaway cay. We loved the lounge for bfast, avoiding the chaos and trying to find seats for buffet, enjoyed getting in early for show and the snacks in the lounge and the hosts. I feel I got my money's worth

Well we had a great time, and I promised my other 2 grandkids that summer 2025, I'd take them. So it would be me, my granddaughter that went before, and the 2 younger ones. Summer 2025, they will be 8, 10, and 12. Looking at late July, early August - has to be that date range.

So the new schedule is out, and I'm checking out the itineraries. We enjoyed the Wish, so I thought we'll, we can do the Treasure. See some different shows, but similar lounge set up.

But I looked and, wow the Treasure for the 7 night Eastern Caribbean for 4 people consierge is $22,000! Now I was expecting more than my 3 nights, 3 people Wish trip - but that is NOT in my budget!
I'm not real excited to go back to Nassau, but 4 night Wish is possible, or a similar itinerary on the Dream but Lookout Point instead of Castaway. Also saw a 4 night Magic that was just Lookout Point and Castaway Cay.

I know the Magic is 25 years old- would we be disappointed in a smaller ship when our first experience was the Wish? Maybe the Dream would be better, even if going to Nassau My granddaughter that went last time was looking forward to a longer cruise where she could check out the kids club and hero zone- we were off the ship more than on last time, looking forward to a sea day to explore ship more.

It looks like 4, maayybee 5 day would work budget wise. We are from Texas, I'm disappointed that DCL doesn't cruise from Galveston in the summer time.

Back to the Wish? Or try out Magic or Dream?

2023 took my oldest granddaughter and niece on a 3 night Wish sailing Nassau/Castaway, ages 10/13. First cruise for everyone, myself included, and decided 3 night, since we didn't know if we would like it or have seasickness issues. Splurged on consierge to offset our newbieness. Did Atlantis swim with the Dolphins, didn't get a cabana, but it worked out fine on Castaway cay. We loved the lounge for bfast, avoiding the chaos and trying to find seats for buffet, enjoyed getting in early for show and the snacks in the lounge and the hosts. I feel I got my money's worth

Well we had a great time, and I promised my other 2 grandkids that summer 2025, I'd take them. So it would be me, my granddaughter that went before, and the 2 younger ones. Summer 2025, they will be 8, 10, and 12. Looking at late July, early August - has to be that date range.

So the new schedule is out, and I'm checking out the itineraries. We enjoyed the Wish, so I thought we'll, we can do the Treasure. See some different shows, but similar lounge set up.

But I looked and, wow the Treasure for the 7 night Eastern Caribbean for 4 people consierge is $22,000! Now I was expecting more than my 3 nights, 3 people Wish trip - but that is NOT in my budget!
I'm not real excited to go back to Nassau, but 4 night Wish is possible, or a similar itinerary on the Dream but Lookout Point instead of Castaway. Also saw a 4 night Magic that was just Lookout Point and Castaway Cay.

I know the Magic is 25 years old- would we be disappointed in a smaller ship when our first experience was the Wish? Maybe the Dream would be better, even if going to Nassau My granddaughter that went last time was looking forward to a longer cruise where she could check out the kids club and hero zone- we were off the ship more than on last time, looking forward to a sea day to explore ship more.

It looks like 4, maayybee 5 day would work budget wise. We are from Texas, I'm disappointed that DCL doesn't cruise from Galveston in the summer time.

Back to the Wish? Or try out Magic or Dream?

Personally, the Magic is my LEAST favorite boat. Mostly because the spiral slide and drop slide take up a LOT of deck space which truly does make a difference. More than one may think. Also, it seems like the few times we’ve been on it, there is always something wrong or major work being done impacting the enjoyment. Doors to the promenade deck being closed and unoperable was an issue as this was a LOT of the doors. We have actually filtered Magic out of the options for the summer but keep in mind, it’s the cheapest fares for a reason. Don’t get me wrong, you’ll enjoy it I’m sure but if you’ve been on other boats, you may find yourself doing a lot of comparing on this one, that’s all. I’d go DREAM as it has the aquaduct which the kids will love.

 

[randumb0]

Personally, the Magic is my LEAST favorite boat. Mostly because the spiral slide and drop slide take up a LOT of deck space which truly does make a difference. More than one may think. Also, it seems like the few times we’ve been on it, there is always something wrong or major work being done impacting the enjoyment. Doors to the promenade deck being closed and unoperable was an issue as this was a LOT of the doors. We have actually filtered Magic out of the options for the summer but keep in mind, it’s the cheapest fares for a reason. Don’t get me wrong, you’ll enjoy it I’m sure but if you’ve been on other boats, you may find yourself doing a lot of comparing on this one, that’s all. I’d go DREAM as it has the aquaduct which the kids will love.

There are a lot of disagreement as on this issue but I am not one of them. The Magic is my least favorite ship

 

[Tink1987]

If it was me I’d pick Sitka, only because Seattle is somewhere you could fairly easily get to for a few days (assuming you’re in the US or Canada.)

Sitka is also a port where you don’t need to do an excursion. We’d booked privately but the seas were pretty rough so it got cancelled so we went into the town and did one of the trails in the forest and just took in the beautiful views.

Thanks for your thoughts! We would be travelling internationally for 15 hours so wanted to try and fit Seattle in. But perhaps I am trying to do too much and I should keep Seattle for another trip. 9 nights would be nice on the ship too.

I personally would prefer a vacation that has only two parts not three. The 9 night cruise sounds like a fantastic mix of relaxation and exploration. I would rather tag on one more day in Vancouver than rush to see another city.

Thank you! 9 nights on the ship does sound nice instead of rushing.

 

[Lesverts]

And I was back in that region in December - but 14 nights out of Tampa. If you are going to do a shorter length cruise, though, you need to cut the day or two it takes to get down to the VI latitude - hence the San Juan departure as @Calantha mentioned earlier.

The hard part is finding a cruise that includes Bonaire - the B in ABC. If anyone loves beaches, this is a nice alternative to the standard Disney itineraries. The ABC islands are outside the Hurricane zone, so a nice plus.

ABC = Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao

Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Princess all offer 8 night ABC cruises out of Florida. 2 sea days down, 3 ports, 2 sea days back.

 

[JM_97]

There are a lot of disagreement as on this issue but I am not one of them. The Magic is my least favorite ship

She is 27 years old, which is old for a ship. The guest areas may look sparkling new, but there are some mechanical and back of the house things that just come with being on the ocean for nearly 30 years.

I have no idea when Disney will retire her, but it could be sooner than people think. I still like it but like someone said, there's a reason the Disney Magic prices are a little bit cheaper.

 

[RysMomma]

I think we've been priced out for 2025 Alaska with Disney. I can do a week long with one room (with a 17 and a 15 year old) for like 14K and I can get two rooms on RC for 11K inside passage. I hate to turn Disney down, but I think I have to this time. So bummed!

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

I think we've been priced out for 2025 Alaska with Disney. I can do a week long with one room (with a 17 and a 15 year old) for like 14K and I can get two rooms on RC for 11K inside passage. I hate to turn Disney down, but I think I have to this time. So bummed!

I would look at different cruise lines as well. I didn't like RC in Alaska. Lots of stuff on the ship never worked and there was always a long wait to dine even though we had timed dining. The food was pretty bad. Although we got some good memories out of it--we all still laugh at our baked Alaska, it was literally a soup as it was all melted when they brought it to us!

However, Alaska is about the natural beauty so the rest is secondary. It was still a great trip because that state is beautiful. I would just not do RC if I were doing it again (we've had good experiences with them in the Carib, so not sure what happened)

 

[CeCe0906]

There are a lot of disagreement as on this issue but I am not one of them. The Magic is my least favorite ship

Thanks all for the replies- hope I didn't goof by posting in this thread but I got some good info- always nice to hear from previous cruisers with first hand information! I think I'm going to try the Dream, seems like the best compromise for money and experience for this trip .

 

[RysMomma]

I would look at different cruise lines as well. I didn't like RC in Alaska. Lots of stuff on the ship never worked and there was always a long wait to dine even though we had timed dining. The food was pretty bad. Although we got some good memories out of it--we all still laugh at our baked Alaska, it was literally a soup as it was all melted when they brought it to us!

However, Alaska is about the natural beauty so the rest is secondary. It was still a great trip because that state is beautiful. I would just not do RC if I were doing it again (we've had good experiences with them in the Carib, so not sure what happened)

Thanks for this info! I just wrote our agent and told her to get us some info next week on two Disney and to let us know other lines to look at. I know Princess and Holland America are big ones, just not sure how they would be for two teenagers? Either way, we definitely want to do this! So, we'll go any way we can!

 

[Geomom]

2023 took my oldest granddaughter and niece on a 3 night Wish sailing Nassau/Castaway, ages 10/13. First cruise for everyone, myself included, and decided 3 night, since we didn't know if we would like it or have seasickness issues. Splurged on consierge to offset our newbieness. Did Atlantis swim with the Dolphins, didn't get a cabana, but it worked out fine on Castaway cay. We loved the lounge for bfast, avoiding the chaos and trying to find seats for buffet, enjoyed getting in early for show and the snacks in the lounge and the hosts. I feel I got my money's worth

Well we had a great time, and I promised my other 2 grandkids that summer 2025, I'd take them. So it would be me, my granddaughter that went before, and the 2 younger ones. Summer 2025, they will be 8, 10, and 12. Looking at late July, early August - has to be that date range.

So the new schedule is out, and I'm checking out the itineraries. We enjoyed the Wish, so I thought we'll, we can do the Treasure. See some different shows, but similar lounge set up.

But I looked and, wow the Treasure for the 7 night Eastern Caribbean for 4 people consierge is $22,000! Now I was expecting more than my 3 nights, 3 people Wish trip - but that is NOT in my budget!
I'm not real excited to go back to Nassau, but 4 night Wish is possible, or a similar itinerary on the Dream but Lookout Point instead of Castaway. Also saw a 4 night Magic that was just Lookout Point and Castaway Cay.

I know the Magic is 25 years old- would we be disappointed in a smaller ship when our first experience was the Wish? Maybe the Dream would be better, even if going to Nassau My granddaughter that went last time was looking forward to a longer cruise where she could check out the kids club and hero zone- we were off the ship more than on last time, looking forward to a sea day to explore ship more.

It looks like 4, maayybee 5 day would work budget wise. We are from Texas, I'm disappointed that DCL doesn't cruise from Galveston in the summer time.

Back to the Wish? Or try out Magic or Dream?

What about doing a non concierge room? Then you'd be able to afford a longer cruise. We have never done concierge and loved all our Disney cruises.

I generally avoid the buffets and if we have time we'll do 1-2 sit down breakfasts and lunches/cruise in the main dining room that is open for it (usually the one by the atrium, or I'll get food by the pool bar area, room service cold breakfast on early port days, or free pastries (only on the original 4 ships) from Cove Cafe/Vista Cafe.

 

[JM_97]

I think we've been priced out for 2025 Alaska with Disney. I can do a week long with one room (with a 17 and a 15 year old) for like 14K and I can get two rooms on RC for 11K inside passage. I hate to turn Disney down, but I think I have to this time. So bummed!

I feel the same way about the Fantasy in 2025.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

What about doing a non concierge room? Then you'd be able to afford a longer cruise. We have never done concierge and loved all our Disney cruises.

I generally avoid the buffets and if we have time we'll do 1-2 sit down breakfasts and lunches/cruise in the main dining room that is open for it (usually the one by the atrium, or I'll get food by the pool bar area, room service cold breakfast on early port days, or free pastries (only on the original 4 ships) from Cove Cafe/Vista Cafe.

I second this! I would choose longer vacation time to concierge. It's very nice, but you don't have to have it to avoid crowds in the manners you suggest

 

[Ronneeaght]

Is there anywhere where you can see each ships schedule linearly?

Not that I know of but I wish they would do this.

Not sure if it’s against the rules to say this, but the DCL blog has a daily schedule for each ship that I think does what you are looking for.

 

[auntlynne]

Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Princess all offer 8 night ABC cruises out of Florida. 2 sea days down, 3 ports, 2 sea days back.

Gives me something to think about. A dedicated ABC cruise would be nice.

My 14 night had 10 port stops (including NCL’s island, Great Stirrup Cay). Several of those visits are probably one and done.

I would like to try Celebrity. The videos by Captain Kate have recently been a lot of Southern or different- than- usual Disney itineraries. And I do enjoy Princess.

Thanks!

 

[auntlynne]

Is there anywhere where you can see each ships schedule linearly?


….

Something like this:? Mousesavers has it for each Disney ship.

https://www.mousesavers.com/disney-...ruise-schedule-sail-dates-ports-more/#fantasy

 

[Lesverts]

Not sure if it’s against the rules to say this, but the DCL blog has a daily schedule for each ship that I think does what you are looking for.

I ended up finding something that worked well enough for me to figure out what I wanted to. I just find how cruise companies post their cruises makes it hard for me to visualize the dates and how things fit together.