Vero beach or disney cruise

[aeenser]

E have been DVC owners at BLT for 5 years. We have done 4 trips to WDW and one to Disney Land. We have a a 5 and 7 year old. We are looking at our trip for next year and want to make it a little more relaxing. 4 days at WDW and then deciding between vero beach or a cruise. I know these are two different ways to go, but just looking for thoughts, opinions, or any other information. Thanks in advanced.

 

[readytogotodisney]

We haven't stayed at Vero Beach, but we absolutely LOVE DCL. It really is relaxing, the service (of course) is top notch, the food is great, entertainment is wonderful, and the kids clubs are so fun!

I would just make sure you pick a cruise with a stop at Castaway Cay. We did a 3 night to get our cruising feet wet last April, while we were not a fan of Nassau (didn't think we would be) CC more then made up for it. We have another DCL cruise coming up on Nov with a double dip in CC! We're so excited!

 

[jerseygal]

We stayed at Vero for a few days after WDW as well as doing the Disney Dream during the month of August.
We are the parents of older sons and many asked us "why in the world" would we sail a Disney Cruise with older kids! We had a blast, enjoyed the shows, Castaway Cay and the food! We even did an excursion through Disney while docked in Nassau at a private island beach with really cool blow up rafts, water activities!

With that being said, we cruised in August and it was VERY CROWDED! We were able to use the adult pool and that SAVED US from the insanity of the high demand August season.

I would recommend BOTH Vero which we loved and Disney Cruise, specifically The Dream, but would NOT recommend cruising in June,July, August because of the crowds. Too crowded for the little ones in my opinion!

Have fun planning your post WDW "wind down"!

 

[bdrobet]

I second the "make sure you choose a cruise that stops at Castaway Cay." We were on the Western Caribbean cruise on the Disney Fantasy last month and Castaway was by far my favorite port. I would have traded any other destination (Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Costa Maya) for more days at Castaway Cay!

 

[bbn1122]

We are doing both together this summer. It will be our 4th cruise and first stay at VB.

Our first cruise our boys were 10, 12 and 16..... Now it just two of them with us...older son is in college.

We are staying first at OKW for two nights, also first time then on to VB for 4 nights and then a 3 night Dream cruise.

We also own at. BLT and stayed there twice. We also stayed at AKL and HHI.

I would recommend the cruise....love it....it a floating resort....beautiful decor, great service....characters all over the place....fun! Castaway Cay is a blast!

But I am looking forward to VB too...the resort looks beautiful.

Good luck planning.....I just search these boards and read all the trip reports and look at all the photos....check the cruise boards here....so much info!

 

[bcvlover]

We have done both...

BUt I would say that vero would probably be a lot less expensive.

Both are awesome.

 

[Anal Annie]

Personally if I could afford it I would plan a cruise after WDW. I say it like this because I am one who doesn't feel that cruising on points is a good value so we pay cash for our cruises (and yes, we've cruised once with points so I feel I'm qualified to have that opinion now). So for us, crusing is a much more expensive option than using points for an entire vacation. We are also "points challenged" so have to be pretty frugal with how we use our points.

We've also tried VB after a week at WDW. It is a great resort but it's awfully quiet in the area. The town pretty much rolls up the carpet by 9:00. This would definitely be a cheaper option if you'd like to plan something more budget based because of using the points. The points there are pretty reasonable. We stayed for 3 nights but I think that was probably long enough - there's just not that much to do there. Maybe 4 nights. But we'd definitely not plan a whole week there. We love DCL - not as big a fan of the shorter cruises tho - we have done 2 7-night ones as well as a back-to-back 4/3 night. Really didn't like the 3 night one and would never do one of those again. We are currently planning to sandwich a 4-night one in the middle of a trip to WDW for next summer. Only planning the 4-night because we can't afford to fly to Europe for a longer one (and feel like the Fantasy 7-night ones are over priced). So I guess what you plan should be based on your budget and the amount of points you have to spend. If money is no object go for the cruise but don't do one shorter than 4 nights.

 

[jerseygal]

We also would rather pay cash than use our points for DCL.

It is quiet at Vero, but very pretty. Did Vero for 3 nights, Post WDW for a nice relaxing wind down. All the CMs there were very pleasant!

Would imagine that HHI has a "similar" vibe as Vero Beach...Recently read great reviews about HHI and the nice renovations. HHI is a possibility for next May.

You CAN'T go wrong with either choice! ENJOY, we loved both!

 

[robhawk]

Just got back from a Disney Dream/Vero vacation.
If money is not an option I would take the cruise.
We love both so much. Very relaxing in different ways.
No bad choice!

 

[bobbiwoz]

For us, VB has been perfect for pre cruise! I would not replace a cruise with that resort.

Bobbi

 

[DVC Jen]

We do a cruise and then Vero.

 

[Mazz519]

Last trip we did Cruise 5 days, WDW 4 days and then Vero Beach for 5 days... Absolutely loved all 3 ...Obviously, how couldn't you... Vero Beach is great if you just want to relax by the pool or the Beach. DCL is a little busier and a lot more expensive...Whatever you decide you can't go wrong