We are Disney World vacationers and have never done a
Disney Cruise. I have only done one cruise in my life and that was many moons ago on Carnival.
The first thing that comes to mind is did you enjoy cruising as a vacation? We've spent a fair amount of time at WDW and love it, but find the cruises to be much more calm and relaxing. Plus the enjoyment of seeing different locations during the vacation. If your answer is yes, then I highly recommend it. We have cruised Disney both with and without kids, have a transatlantic for 2 coming up, and plan on continuing as nearly empty nesters to cruise Disney when feasible. I love the classic feel of the ships and the Disney touches, and we find plenty to do as adults. I like kids, but in general I think I've often noticed fewer kids "underfoot" on
DCL than some other ships.
With booking DW they have discounted rooms at certain times does DCL do that as well? I have no clue where, best time, ship anything.
The ships work differently than the parks and historically DCL tends not to run "sales" but they do occasionally have discounts for residents of FL and certain other geographic areas, and also military discounts. For a start on general pricing, find a website that will let you search a date range and a cruise line (not sure I'm allowed to mention them) and sort by price. That will give you an idea of what times of the year (and geographical areas) are currently less expensive.
Best ship is subjective, we actually favor the classic ships but honestly I don't think you can go wrong here. IMHO I would not do less than 4 days, and at least 7 gives you a more truly relaxing experience, at least for us. It always takes us a day or two to fully mellow into cruising mode.
For you Cruisers out there where should I start? Use a
travel Agent? Best time to go? If anyone could point me in the right direction I would appreciate it. I'm not even sure this is something we will do, so I would love any feed back.
These boards are a great source of info. Best time to go depends on if you want best price, warmer or cooler weather, what works with your schedule, etc.
As far as a travel agent, a good one can be a great help if you feel overwhelmed and they also often provide onboard credits or little gifts, or both. An agent that fits your personality is helpful. I personally don't use one these days because I like to be in immediate control of my reservation and to be able to communicate with Disney directly without the extra middleman in time-sensitive situations (or when I think of something at 2am and want to make changes on the website, lol).
Good luck deciding!