Need help picking itinerary for Fall 2023

[disneyandcandles]

We are torn between two itineraries and I would love to get anyone's input. The choice might come down to overall cost but I want to know if I am missing anything.

About us: Husband and I. Mid 20s, no kids. I love all things Disney and I have been on 3 Disney cruises, 2 as an adult. He has never been on a cruise but will only cruise Disney due to their higher environmental committment than other lines.

Option 1: 8 night Bermuda Disney Fantasy Sept 9-17

• 2 sea days, 2 Bermuda days, sea day, Castaway, Nassau
• $5044 for the room we would pick. The only reason we started considering this is because the VGT rate is <$4000, but my husband is not comfortable being assigned a room in case it is terrible and we are stuck for 8 nights.
• Pros:
  • Extra night
  • Extra port. My husband has never been to Nassau so we are actually excited about it haha (we would either do an excursion or stay on the ship to enjoy the last day).
  • Getting to port overnight at Bermuda - that seems special to me as I have never been in a port overnight
  • Bermuda - seems safe and easy to navigate by ourselves instead of a formal excursion
  • Seems more relaxing due to not having to book an excursion
  • Itinerary that doesn't seem to be common
  • Castaway is NOT last day - honestly being on Castaway makes me sad because it means that my vacation is a day away from being over. I also spend the whole cruise looking forward to my favorite beach and then boom, time for home. I LOVED how on my last cruise Castaway was the second to last day and I had one more full day.
• Cons
  • Cost
  • Coming back on a Sunday instead of a Saturday - it's nice to have an extra day to get stuff done before going back to work
  • No theme (it's not Halloween on the High Seas or Silver Anniversary) but this doesn't really bother me

Option 2: 7 Night Eastern Caribbean with St Maarten, San Juan Disney Fantasy Sept 23-30

• 2 sea days, St Maarten, San Juan, sea day, Castaway
• $4211 for the room we would pick.
• Pros:
  • cheaper price
  • Comes back on a Saturday
  • Itinerary that doesn't seem to be common
  • Halloween on the High Seas - I have never done one
• Cons
  • One less night
  • Would probably book excursions through Disney for both ports
  • While I like excursions, I find the days to be long and tiring. I would rather do my own thing, but I am not sure we would feel safe enough in San Juan. which leads to my next point:
  • San Juan - my husband does not like Puerto Rico, so we are definitely doing a Disney excursion.
  • Castaway is the last day - sad.

Other Thoughts

• I feel like the ship is going to be less crowded for the 8 night, however I CANNOT bank on that because the ship can always fill up and my husband will let me know about it lol
• I feel like the weather would be better in early September
• Maybe 7 nights would be better for his first cruise in case he gets bored?

As you can see, I am very biased toward Bermuda, but the cost is pushing us toward the 7 night. I would love to hear any insight you have, your thoughts on these ports, what there is to do in each port, and your overall recommendation.

Another note, I do have a placeholder that I booked on my last cruise. I think that would give me 10% off of the prices I listed above, which helps.

 

[tvguy]

Option 2 for me. But I have zero interest in Bermuda and love St. Maarten and San Juan.

 

[disneyandcandles]

Option 2 for me. But I have zero interest in Bermuda and love St. Maarten and San Juan.

What is your favorite thing to do in each port?

 

[Clarkson U]

We are torn between two itineraries and I would love to get anyone's input. The choice might come down to overall cost but I want to know if I am missing anything.

About us: Husband and I. Mid 20s, no kids. I love all things Disney and I have been on 3 Disney cruises, 2 as an adult. He has never been on a cruise but will only cruise Disney due to their higher environmental committment than other lines.

Option 1: 8 night Bermuda Disney Fantasy Sept 9-17

• 2 sea days, 2 Bermuda days, sea day, Castaway, Nassau
• $5044 for the room we would pick. The only reason we started considering this is because the VGT rate is <$4000, but my husband is not comfortable being assigned a room in case it is terrible and we are stuck for 8 nights.
• Pros:
  • Extra night
  • Extra port. My husband has never been to Nassau so we are actually excited about it haha (we would either do an excursion or stay on the ship to enjoy the last day).
  • Getting to port overnight at Bermuda - that seems special to me as I have never been in a port overnight
  • Bermuda - seems safe and easy to navigate by ourselves instead of a formal excursion
  • Seems more relaxing due to not having to book an excursion
  • Itinerary that doesn't seem to be common
  • Castaway is NOT last day - honestly being on Castaway makes me sad because it means that my vacation is a day away from being over. I also spend the whole cruise looking forward to my favorite beach and then boom, time for home. I LOVED how on my last cruise Castaway was the second to last day and I had one more full day.
• Cons
  • Cost
  • Coming back on a Sunday instead of a Saturday - it's nice to have an extra day to get stuff done before going back to work
  • No theme (it's not Halloween on the High Seas or Silver Anniversary) but this doesn't really bother me

Option 2: 7 Night Eastern Caribbean with St Maarten, San Juan Disney Fantasy Sept 23-30

• 2 sea days, St Maarten, San Juan, sea day, Castaway
• $4211 for the room we would pick.
• Pros:
  • cheaper price
  • Comes back on a Saturday
  • Itinerary that doesn't seem to be common
  • Halloween on the High Seas - I have never done one
• Cons
  • One less night
  • Would probably book excursions through Disney for both ports
  • While I like excursions, I find the days to be long and tiring. I would rather do my own thing, but I am not sure we would feel safe enough in San Juan. which leads to my next point:
  • San Juan - my husband does not like Puerto Rico, so we are definitely doing a Disney excursion.
  • Castaway is the last day - sad.

Other Thoughts

• I feel like the ship is going to be less crowded for the 8 night, however I CANNOT bank on that because the ship can always fill up and my husband will let me know about it lol
• I feel like the weather would be better in early September
• Maybe 7 nights would be better for his first cruise in case he gets bored?

As you can see, I am very biased toward Bermuda, but the cost is pushing us toward the 7 night. I would love to hear any insight you have, your thoughts on these ports, what there is to do in each port, and your overall recommendation.

Another note, I do have a placeholder that I booked on my last cruise. I think that would give me 10% off of the prices I listed above, which helps.

Placeholder can not be used on a VGT rate so don’t know if that factors into your cost.

Do the 7 just in case DH hates it.

 

[disneyandcandles]

Placeholder can not be used on a VGT rate so don’t know if that factors into your cost.

Do the 7 just in case DH hates it.

We're not doing the VGT rate because we are worried about room assignment, so the 10% applies to the $5k. Thank you for your feedback!

 

[NephieRN]

I’d personally pick the 8 night and do the VGT rate-we’ve never gotten a bad room when doing guaranteed rates. But if you aren’t comfortable with that, I’d still pick the 8 night because it’s a unique itinerary to the fantasy and an extra night is always better.

 

[tvguy]

What is your favorite thing to do in each port?

The "Tale of Two Nations" tour that explores both the Dutch and French sides of the island and America's Cup Yacht races in St. Maarten.

Snorkeling and the Bacardi factory tour in San Juan.

 

[Mommb]

You are correct that the Bermuda cruise happens less often. I would guess that will make it more crowded than the Eastern Caribbean cruise, but that is just a guess.

My family didn’t find any of the San Juan excursions appealing, so we just walked to the large fort that was easily accessed from the cruise terminal. I did not feel unsafe walking around, though the area near the port was crowded.

If you feel more comfortable in Bermuda and think you could find enough to do to fill 2 days, that is probably the better option. I understand wanting a full day after the cruise to recuperate, but you could be at the airport by noon for a flight home.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

I would take the 8 night to Bermuda due to the extra night and also interest in seeing Bermuda. I think having an overnight there would be nice to have time to explore the island in a little more depth. Also I agree with you it's a little sad when Castaway is the last day and then it's over.

 

[Mango7100]

Oh that’s tough one. I would personally do Bermuda just because I want to go there and have never been, they sail so infrequently to Bermuda. It is more expensive but the difference is about $800 for the extra day.

As far as San Juan, we were there in July and just walked around Old San Juan by ourselves For a few hours. I felt totally safe, and we had our 9 year old with us.

One thing to factor in is September is prime hurricane season. Would you be OK missing a port or being rerouted if needed? This is purely anecdotal based on my memory, but it seems like you don’t hear about Bermuda getting hit with hurricanes as much as the Caribbean. I don’t know if they tend to fizzle out in that area of the Atlantic or take a different path or ?

 

[disneyandcandles]

I would absolutely be ok with missing a port due to weather, we understand that is the risk we take when cruising in hurricane season.

I am definitely still leaning toward Bermuda. I find myself agreeing with the pro Bermuda comments and wanting to argue with the pro Caribbean comments haha. If it wasn't for the cost, we would be doing Bermuda without a second thought.

 

[dumdumducky5]

We are booked on that Bermuda cruise. I’m so excited for the overnight. Like you, I’ve never had an overnight port before. That being said, I also love eastern Caribbean. St. Maarten is a special place for me as my husband and I got engaged there. I don’t think either is a bad choice.

 

[holula]

I would do Bermuda. Normally the Bermuda cruises sail from NYC and not PC, and Disney haven’t added any of these (yet) to any future releases.

You can do the Caribbean whenever. Bermuda there are only a handful of sailings per year.

 

[Karin1984]

To me, the 7 night cruise is the more interesting itinerary, although I did enjoy Bermuda.

Not sure if Disney is the most environmental committed cruiseline in this region. They are certainly up there, but when you google this subject, you also get other cruiselines.

 

[OpieDoodle]

So just a little food for thought! Generally, with the exception of a small handful of itineraries, the amount of people on the ship isn't going to vary all that much between these two itineraries.

I've been looking at Bermuda quite a bit as I'm really excited to eventually go there, I hear great things about the port BUT, almost all of the cruises I've found have quite a few days at sea often multiple in a row. Which isn't a bad thing but may not be the best thing for someone who has never cruised.

Personally, I LOVE sea days and can't get enough of them, I'm someone who is over here drooling over the transatlantic cruises LOL. Trying to book with my husband and/or kids tho brings a bit of a difficulty with it. I'm sure my kids would be fine but my husband is the bigger question for me. I worry the days at sea he will get bored. He's no where near as into Disney as I am. I'm sure he'd be fine with 1 day at sea then port then another day at sea, etc BUT multiple in a row I think would be a struggle for someone who hasn't cruised before or in my husband's case he's only been on a short 3 night cruise with no sea days.

I ended up booking a couple short cruises then we decided fall 2024 we are going to book a 7 night WESTERN carribean. From what I've seen on past itineraries its no more than 1 sea day in a row then a port. So, it's going to be a good happy medium for me where I want a longer cruise but I'm worried about the rest of my family and too many sea days

 

[MomOTwins]

I’d pick the Bermuda because it is earlier in hurricane season than the caribbean one and further north so would hopefully avoid a storm. We had a cruise late September last year get cancelled due to. Hurricane and it soured me on that time of year.

 

[magsnwonderland]

I’d do Bermuda with the VGT rate, but I’m generally of the opinion that any room on the ship beats not being on the ship.

 

[ambula603]

Both sound like wonderful options! But I would go for the 8 days because I am always wanting more days! I hope your husband can enjoy it and not put pressure on you (either directly or indirectly) to find the perfect cruise...because neither will be perfect. Once you decide, try hard not to question your decision and just start counting down toward the fun!

 

[Geomom]

I'd do the Bermuda one as it's more interesting to me. Use the placeholder discount and that will bring the price down a bit. The Fantasy does have a known aft vibration issue, so I probably wouldn't do a VGT for that ship, and instead choose a midship or forward room (near the forward elevators so it's not 'too' forward). I probably would do a VGT for the other ships though!

 

[disneyandcandles]

Both sound like wonderful options! But I would go for the 8 days because I am always wanting more days! I hope your husband can enjoy it and not put pressure on you (either directly or indirectly) to find the perfect cruise...because neither will be perfect. Once you decide, try hard not to question your decision and just start counting down toward the fun!

Oh he definitly isn't putting pressure on me! I just meant that if I sell it as "less people" and it's full, he will (in good nature) not let me live it down Thank you for your input!