1st time cruisers!!! Advice? Lay it on me!!!

[Mousemommy1]

So, my family of four (2 adults, 2 children) will be doing our annual Disney trip next August but with a 3 night Disney Cruise in the middle of our trip!!!

While we are very experienced Disney travelers/planners, we know NOTHING about cruising.

We will be on the Disney Dream, room 8096 in a Deluxe Family Oceanview with Verandah.

What's the best advice you can give?? We are such newbies to this!

We still have to book the ground transportation because when booking on line, you can do airport to port booking but it says to call for resort to port transfers...

When do you find out about activities, etc??? Is that something you get upon boarding and then choose what you want to do?

We have main seating for dining...so is there a certain time for that??

Sorry for such basic questions! Thanks!

 

[thepops]

First, Congratulations! you are going to have a great time! Next, read as much of this board as you can (especially those that deal with the Dream). You can do your transfers through Disney ($35/per person/per way) or you can get one of the local companies to take you. We used OCS last time and they were very good. One thing to really grasp is Don't try to do everything. There is just too much to try and do it all.
Also look for the cruse meet thread for the cruise you are on. You'll meet some great folks there and probably bump into some of them on the ship. The shows are great, the kids clubs are fabulous (be sure to do the tour with them on the first day). Enjoy the Aquaduck, it is a blast.
I think there are a couple of threads that cover this topic as well. Look for them.
Be ready to re-book onboard. you can pick a dummy date but you will get a nice onboard credit, 10% off the cruise and only have to put 10% down. a great deal!
Have a great cruise!

 

[emilyann415]

Hi Mousemommy!
If I remember correctly you were the one who gave me GREAT info on staying CL at Wilderness Lodge last year. What we did when we first cruised was read lots and lots of trip reports. I would focus on Dream TRs in particular. You will derive specific questions from those reports. Best of luck. You will LOVE DCL!!!!

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Hi! Congrats on your first cruise you will love it I am sure! We do! We love The Dream such a beautiful ship and deck 8 is a great deck to be on.

Advise I can think of is...

For first time cruisers you can log on and book activities and check in time at 90 days I think. Do this and try and score an early check in like before 1pm. That way you get to have lunch onboard in Cabana's the buffet restaurant and it extends your vacation!

Bring a swimming costume with you ( not in main luggage ) as you might not have your bags till later in the afternoon.

You can bring alcohol and soft drinks on board if you carry it on yourself.

Main dining is at 6:00

Join an FE it's real fun ( Fish Extender ) the kids will love this

Castaway Cay is great the highlight for us but gets really hot. Not much shade bring hats etc! The food isn't great on CC imao so we went back to ship for lunch.

The cinema is good so check out showing times

There is normally a Pirates night. This is fun!

We like Palo's but it's adult only I see you are blessed with two children.

If I think of anything else I will post again! Oh agree PP book another cruise onboard and if considering DVC purchase good deals on that.

 

[cgolf]

The best advice I can give is to take your time on the ship and try to not do everything you see on the navigator. We have made this mistake and it adds a bit of stress and you will feel like you missed something the whole time.

Take time to enjoy the ship, maybe have a cocktail in skyline lounge at the end of the night if the kids are at the clubs, this is a favorite of ours becuase the atmosphere is conducive to having a relaxed conversation. Ride the aqua duck at night, less of a line and IMO a neater ride. Just walking around and the ship you will see a lot too.

We always come down a day early and use the hotel cruise packages to arrange our transprtation which alleviates a stress point for you. All you need to do is make one reservation instead of multiple, cocoa beach has many different hotel options that do this.

My absolute favorite though is breakfast outside of cabana's. Food is decent, but staring at the ocean going by is super peaceful and a can't miss for us.

cgolf

 

[Mousemommy1]

emilyann415 Nice to "see" you again!!! I absolutely LOVE WL CL How did you like it?

Thank you everyone for the helpful tips! Feel free to keep them coming. I definitely think we will do a date night on the ship (we normally do one during our WDW trip) but I think that doing it on the ship will be cheaper since we don't have to pay for the Kid's Club like at WDW...I'm thinking Palo?? The kids love the WDW Kid's Clubs and they can't wait to check out the Oceaneer's Club!!!

Gonna have to go Google "Fish Extenders"....

 

[cgolf]

While we are no means foodies, we really enjoy the Palo brunch, it has become a can't miss for us the last few trips. We have never done the Palo dinner, hopefully others could chime in on that.

Also on deck 4 there is a heated area just off of the jogging track near skyline lounge that is a nice place to hang at night, we very rarely saw anyone there and it was just the right temp to ward off a cool night and look out at the ocean. Really wish they had this on the Fantasy.

cgolf

 

[Four Swampers]

Good news: everything on the ship is listed in the Navigator in a very easy to read format, so you will have an easy time deciding what to do. We went on our first cruise, a three night to the Bahamas, with absolutely no research and no knowledge of the disboards, and we had a great time!

There are a few things to know to make your first trip better:

1. Pack less. A lot less. I know you think you need that, but you don't. Pack less.
2. Hat, sunblock, sunglasses.
3. Bring swimsuit on board in carry-on luggage. Grab lunch, then go straight to Aquaduck. Checked luggage will arrive at room in late afternoon or evening.
4. Bring meds in checked luggage.
5. Palo is great. Dinner is great, brunch is outstanding. If you can't reserve it before you go, they keep a number of slots to be reserved on board. After you board, the dining people will be available for Palo requests, Remy requests, and other requests. Ask any CM where and when they will be.
6. This is a taste of cruising. You can't do it all. Don't worry, you will eventually do it all as you come back for more cruises.

Have a great time!!

 

[goofyintoronto]

You cant do it all you say? Maybe not on a 3 night cruise, but for a 7 nighter it should be fine right?

Good news: everything on the ship is listed in the Navigator in a very easy to read format, so you will have an easy time deciding what to do. We went on our first cruise, a three night to the Bahamas, with absolutely no research and no knowledge of the disboards, and we had a great time!

There are a few things to know to make your first trip better:

1. Pack less. A lot less. I know you think you need that, but you don't. Pack less.
2. Hat, sunblock, sunglasses.
3. Bring swimsuit on board in carry-on luggage. Grab lunch, then go straight to Aquaduck. Checked luggage will arrive at room in late afternoon or evening.
4. Bring meds in checked luggage.
5. Palo is great. Dinner is great, brunch is outstanding. If you can't reserve it before you go, they keep a number of slots to be reserved on board. After you board, the dining people will be available for Palo requests, Remy requests, and other requests. Ask any CM where and when they will be.
6. This is a taste of cruising. You can't do it all. Don't worry, you will eventually do it all as you come back for more cruises.

Have a great time!!

 

[castlegazer]

your second one will be even better!

 

[mom2thebest]

Hi Mousemommy! Your family will surely love the cruise! We just did our first cruise on the Dream in September with our two children (4 and 7). We also did 4 days at WDW so I thought I would suggest a rental car for transportation. We considered other options and were so pleased we went that route. We found an awesome rate through Costco and paid for parking at the port, could drive ourselves to the parks (with free parking since we stayed on-site), and could leave for the airport on our final day when we wanted to, not the 3 hours early that ME requires. Happy to answer any questions you may have about the cruise itself. Have fun!!

 

[JimGA]

Not much more to add; -

-Definately budget for pictures, they take great pictues and you will want to purchase a lot of them and they are kind of pricey.

-Over the door shoe organizer is a life saver with 4 people in the room, you will ahve to modify it, DCL do not allow them to hang over the door, we attached our show organizer to a coat hanger with some zip or bread ties, and hung it in the bathrobe/towel hook on the bathroom wall.

-Try to schedule some adult time in the adult deck areas, really peacefuil and quiet up there.

-Change it from a 3 nighter to a 4 nighter....

Have fun, it is awesome.

 

[Mousemommy1]

Not much more to add; -

-Definately budget for pictures, they take great pictues and you will want to purchase a lot of them and they are kind of pricey.

-Over the door shoe organizer is a life saver with 4 people in the room, you will ahve to modify it, DCL do not allow them to hang over the door, we attached our show organizer to a coat hanger with some zip or bread ties, and hung it in the bathrobe/towel hook on the bathroom wall.

-Try to schedule some adult time in the adult deck areas, really peacefuil and quiet up there.

-Change it from a 3 nighter to a 4 nighter....

Have fun, it is awesome.

So about the pictures...is there some type of Photopass type option at all? And did I see a professional studio onboard?

 

[lbgraves]

You are not going to be able to do everything on a 3-night cruise. After spending 36 nights onboard the Magic, we were stressed on the Wonder on our first 3-night.

You cant do it all you say? Maybe not on a 3 night cruise, but for a 7 nighter it should be fine right?

Nope! We have now been on a 3-night, 15-night, and 8 7-nights and still haven't done everything offered on the ships. We just started enjoying the adults nightclub shows on #7. I saw Serenity Bay for the first time ever on #10. Didn't get to enjoy Quiet Cove with DH until #9. I would like to attend one of the cooking demonstrations in the future. Oh!! Went to the rainforest room for the first time on #10 also, actually that was my first time in the spa onboard.

 

[cruisemomma]

Not much more to add; -

-Definately budget for pictures, they take great pictues and you will want to purchase a lot of them and they are kind of pricey.

-Over the door shoe organizer is a life saver with 4 people in the room, you will ahve to modify it, DCL do not allow them to hang over the door, we attached our show organizer to a coat hanger with some zip or bread ties, and hung it in the bathrobe/towel hook on the bathroom wall.

-Try to schedule some adult time in the adult deck areas, really peacefuil and quiet up there.

-Change it from a 3 nighter to a 4 nighter....

Have fun, it is awesome.

I actually found a shoe organizer with a coat hanger type hanger already built in on Amazon. I haven't ordered it yet but am going to get one for our cruise since the over the door type are no longer allowed.

 

[Ofinn]

The first thing I would do is change it from a 3 nighter to a 4 nighter. One less night at Disney and one more night on the Dream. I think you will really enjoy the 4 night cruise more. It sounds like you have been to wdw a lot, and you have a nice long vacation planned so time constraints. The 4 night cruises are actually less per day than the three night cruises. I would also rent a car it's much cheaper than the DCL transfers, and you will get on the ship earlier.

 

[Mousemommy1]

The first thing I would do is change it from a 3 nighter to a 4 nighter. One less night at Disney and one more night on the Dream. I think you will really enjoy the 4 night cruise more. It sounds like you have been to wdw a lot, and you have a nice long vacation planned so time constraints. The 4 night cruises are actually less per day than the three night cruises. I would also rent a car it's much cheaper than the DCL transfers, and you will get on the ship earlier.

Unfortunately, there are no 4 nighters in our time frame, so the 3 day will have to do. There's always next time though!!

 

[jennyjinx3]

Thanks for helping us get even more info Candace!! Two weeks tomorrow!!

 

[Mousemommy1]

Thanks for helping us get even more info Candace!! Two weeks tomorrow!!

 

[Zeppelin]

as previously mentioned make sure your carry on has swim suits, sandals, sunscreen, etc so you can get on deck and start having fun...also; don't eat a big breakfast as you don't want to miss out on the different buffet's offered after boarding the ship...