3 Questions for now -- meals, cost, family of five About This Page:

[WDW1102]

I am just starting to research cruises for our family of five (2 adults, 3 kids--13,12,9). I have some questions that I have wondered about in regards to cruises:
1. Do you have to eat your meals at a large table with others? We are not the type that would be comfortable with that.
2. How does the cost of a Disney cruise (for a family) compare with other cruise lines?
3. What type of room would be the best (in terms of cost) for a family of five? 2 connecting or one large room?
Thanks alot!

[Belle*]

1)With a party of 5 you can request your own table and stand a decent chance of getting it but it is not guaranteed. Make sure to request it when you make your reservation and then check in with Dining on the first day to reiterate your request.
2) DCL is often more expensive than other cruise lines but you get what you pay for! The children's programming is absolutely unparalleled, the Disney "Magic" is all around you as is the superb Disney service. The rooms are 25% larger than industry standard. In other words, in my opinion, well worth any increased cost!
3) Again, this is an opinion but I think you are better off with 2 connecting cabins in a lower category stateroom. More room, 2 bathrooms, etc. Plus you are in your room so rarely it hardly seems worth it to spring for a Category 5 and up (the only ones a family of 5 can stay in). And your kids are old enough that they can all stay in one cabin and you can have the other all to yourselves!

Happy planning!

[cepmom]

I booked 2 connecting cat 10 rooms for our family of 5 (cruising in August 2005). We originally booked 1 cat 4 room, which is the lowest category to fit 5 in one room. After a while I started to think about 5 of us trying to share one shower every day and decided it would be better to get 2 rooms w/2 showers! I was very sad to give up the verandah, but I really feel that two rooms would be much more comfortable for us. Also, the price was about $850 less to get the two connecting rooms!!

Another option would be to get two rooms not connecting; maybe a cat 6 or 7 and a cat 11 across the hall. That way you can have a verandah and then put the kids in their own room across the hall. Our kids are a little too young to put across the hall alone, though so I felt better getting the connecting rooms.

[JoanW]

When I was researching our second cruise, I contacted Tim L. at Mousearvacations, and he gave me price quotes for different combinations that would accomodate 5 of us. I had three or four choices, and ended up picking out a Category 5 and Category 11, across the hall from each other (my oldest is 23). I too opted for two cabins for the exta bathroom and it was cheaper than putting us all in one large cabin with only one bathroom. The first cruise only four of us went and we had a Category 5 with verandah, which we loved, but didn't feel the whole family needed the balcony (just us parents!).

[JoanW]

And we had a table to ourselves the whole cruise (just the four of us). Now on this next cruise, we know others on the cruise, and we requested to be seated with or near them. By the second night of the first cruise, the kids knew a lot of the other kids in the dining room from going to activities onboard.

[DCLFANATiC]

We've been on 2 Disney cruises with a family of 5 ( me and my 4 sons). Both times we had 2 connecting rooms ( one cruise was deck 7, and the other cruise on deck 8). Both times we had our dinner tables by ourselves.

[dmpyron]

Disney cruises "appear" to be more expensive. However, the Disney ships typically get rated as superior to, say RCI or NCL. The rooms are huge compared to some of the other lines. And the kids activities are consistently given top marks.

Disney staterooms are 215 sq ft. Compare this to 115 for NCL, 130 for RCI and 185 for Carnival. And the Disney staterooms are, in effect, mini suites, with a seating area and a rather spacious bathroom.

[MelissaH]

I just got back yesterday from my Wonder cruise. There were 5 of us--my sister and I, together with our 3 children (my 3&5yo boys, her 6yo girl). We decided, since we have no idea how long it will be till we can do this again, that it was worth it to get a category 3 (one bedroom suite). Cats 1-3 have concierge service, which in my opinion made the trip AMAZING! So if it is not too much more expensive than connecting rooms and you can swing it, I would highly recommend it. There were so many concierge perks that I had never read about, despite my extensive research. And the concierge is "not a tipping position" (as I was told by Guest Services), so it will not cost you extra in tips for the concierge. You just tip the servers like everyone else.

At dinner, we were actually hoping to sit with other people, as my sister and I are very outgoing people, but we ate alone at a table for 6. I don't know if the concierge level had anything to do with how we were seated or not, but it does make me curious. Perhaps if you wind up with a mutual table, you can ask to be switched. We would have been happy to switch to a larger table.