Ahoy, Gail! Welcome to planDisney!
I’m happy to walk you through finding a Disney cruise to fit your family's needs. I have much experience planning multigenerational cruises, and am glad to share my tips!
Since you want a shorter cruise, I suggest booking a 3-5 night sailing. When searching for a Disney cruise, I take a few steps to choose the right one for that vacation:
- I start with my sail dates. Like you, sometimes I have multiple options to choose from. So I think about other factors that could influence the time period I ultimately choose: do my kids have a school break on any of these days that I could fit in? A long weekend we could use as a buffer?
- Next, I look at the Special Offers. If I find a sailing with a Special Offer for that time period, that’s usually the one I choose. For example, for your suggested time period, there are many March sailings with a 35% Off Voyage Fare promotion if choosing a Guaranteed Stateroom. (Guaranteed means that, while you choose the stateroom category, Disney Cruise Line chooses the exact location.)
- Sometimes, like you, I find that I’m between holidays and themes. A theme that you could choose for your Christmas sail dates is a Very Merrytime cruise. Many 3-4 night Very Merrytime sailings would fit your criteria as well as Cinderella’s Glass Slipper! Speaking of Cinderella, one of my beloved ships that houses her statue in the Grand Hall, the Disney Wish, has many of these shorter Very Merrytime sailings available. Another Very Merrytime option that will help your family’s memories Go The Distance, are the 4-Night sailings on the Disney Destiny, sailing out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Now that we’ve narrowed down the length, sail dates, Special Offers, and/or theming, I have one more tip when choosing a ship: you can't choose incorrectly or go wrong with any of them! The adults, your teenager, and your toddler will find tons of activities on every single one! Between the Youth Clubs catered to each age group, the unique Rotational Dining on every ship, and recreational activities, any ship you choose will be a dream.
But to narrow the ship choice further, I'd ask myself what my family members are SEAking on our cruise: if they’re into heroes and villains, I’d choose the Disney Destiny; if they love water coasters such as the AquaDuck, I’d choose the Disney Dream; if they love classic Disney fairytales, I’d choose the Disney Wish. Each of these ships fits your criteria of shorter sailings during your time frames, and since they're all Bahamian or Caribbean sailings also boast a favorite Disney Cruise Line evening theme: Pirate Night!
Gail, I hope I helped you narrow down magical sailings for your family. I wish you wonderful memories ahead. Please come back to planDisney if you have more questions!
Bon Voyage,
Rana