20th Anniversary Trips - A PTR for a first ever Disney Cruise and a trip to California!

[piglet1979]

Smart!!! What does DD want to do?

She wants to be a pediatric hospitalist. Up until this past summer she wanted to be a forensic scientist but changed her mind after being really sick this past year. We made 8 trips to the ER and countless doctor appointments. She has finally been diagnosed with POTS and Hypogammaglobulinemia (low antibodies). After seeing how we were treated several times she switched. She doesn't want anyone to feel ignored like she has for so long. We just got in with the best doctors who started to look outside of the box with her and that is when we started to get somewhere.

It's on the list! I haven't gotten to the Ohio schools yet. But I will def look!!

Let me know if you want any ideas of things around the Cleveland to do.

So, for anyone who has cruised, what do you keep with you when you get on the ship?

I always take a regular backpack with me. I usually keep a change of clothes (just incase my suitcase gets lost. It never has but is a fear), any meds including Advil, Sudafed and Tums, my book and all the paperwork you need to get on the boat. You will drop off your bags before you check in. I also have my sunglasses and gum with me.

Packing in General
It's been so long since Andy and I have travelled alone, I really don't know if we can get everything into one bag or not. We are thinking one big bag and one small bag? Since we will be going to Disney Springs before we leave, we are hoping to keep it not too bad. I mean worst case it is 2 suitcases.

When Jeff and I went on our cruise in October, we took one carry one, one medium size suitcase and once backpack.

 

[ambula603]

You will have to tell me what to do and not do!

I will pave the way! I am hoping for good weather for us in July!

Remind me, when do you do dining reservations?

We book 60 days out BUT you have to do it one day at a time, which is uncool! I like WDW's system better - you get up early once! Some open at 5:45 EST but most open at 6. For a long trip like ours, that is lots of stressful mornings (it's 7 my time which is right in the middle of morning commute/school drop off).

What else? What am I missing? I feel like we could have not too much? but I am sure I will add stuff anyway.

If you are coming from a cold climate and have socks and shoes on the plane, you will want some thin flip flops for the ship. Otherwise, have your ID/ passport and Port Arrival Form handy (like not in a folder in a bag inside a bag) and I always like to have nausea meds or Tylenol that I take before getting on. We also carry refillable water bottles for the trip. You can fill them up with water or soda. We like to do the Vitamin Water. Otherwise, the to-go cups are small with no lids or straws. We like to fill them up before we head to the room for the night.

What has everybody used to carry stuff around the ship. I assume I will want my phone with me as it's basically my camera at this point. Chapstick and honestly might be it? Oh I guess my key card.

Bring a lanyard, most people wear them around their necks. You can also get one at the ship store. I keep a small bag with chapstick, sunscreen, my water bottle. I have a super clunky (but adorable) Mickey ice cream sandwich purse that I take at night at dinner. Otherwise, its something small like you have.

We always travel with one carry-on and one personal item per person. We don't check bags, no matter how long the trip. So I am not much help there. But you can store the bags under the bed. Also, I usually buy an organizer for closets I put things in it that we need easy access to (hairbrush, sunscreen, lint roller, first aid kit, etc). We use metal hooks and find a place to stick them for wet clothes, jackets, etc. We just carefully remove them so as not to damage the paint. I will look and see if I have pics of some of my stuff to share!

I figured with the trips and if you want to use a magic band it has to be the new ones in Disneyland, it was time to do it.

I love this one, I may get it, too! We have the old ones but with another DL trip and the cruise, I am going to shell out the money for new ones.

Are flat irons allowed on the ship?

Yes, and they have a hot pad to set the iron on. They do have their own hair dryers, I believe.

Keep asking questions, this is getting me prepared, too!

 

[ambula603]

I couldn't find a picture of our room organizer, but this is the one I have:
Organizer from Amazon

This was my purse I took to dinner


This is an unflattering picture of me with the waterproof cell phone case/lanyard I bought that I took to the excursions. You can see we all wore the lanyards with our Key to the World Cards all the time.


This is a picture of a hook (maybe one on the wall or maybe one we brought, can't tell) but I took a wet/dry beach bag and a sun cover and hat - this was also the bag I took on embarkation day.


And a final tidbit - people decorate their doors with homemade magnets. People like me are extra and add lights! ;o)

 

[missjackiemcg]

So, for anyone who has cruised, what do you keep with you when you get on the ship?

I usually keep our passports, any medicine (just in case there's any issue getting the big suitcase to our room), and clothes for dinner...sometimes the luggage takes a long time to get delivered, so if you have the first dinner, you may want to have those handy.

I ordered myself a Magic Band+ yesterday!!!

Yay!! You don't really neeeeeed it, but we ended up ordering them, too, just because I didn't want to miss out, LOL. It ended up being not very exciting the couple of times they actually lit up on our cruise, but I didn't care--I was so excited for my band to be syncing up with the fireworks. It's the little things!

Are flat irons allowed on the ship?

I've brought my curling iron before, so I'm thinking this should not be a problem!

 

[PoppyJ]

My husband and I just went on our first Disney cruise last summer, and we loved it!

What has everybody used to carry stuff around the ship.

I bought this super cute bag, thinking it would be small enough to just carry around my phone/chapstick (same as you).



Unfortunately, I forgot to bring it!!

It turned out for the best. I really liked being able to walk around the ship with nothing to worry about. I had a magicband and that is really all you need. You don't even need your key card if you have a magicband. I put my phone in my pocket and that was it! If I didn't have a pocket, I didn't being my phone and just had my husband take any pictures I wanted.

Are flat irons allowed on the ship?

Yes, I brought mine. They have a mat that you can put your straightener or curling iron in when it is hot.

 

[jgl130]

But it will probably be our main meal. Anyone been? What should we get?

I always get the tasting menu when I go. It’s a lot of food, but when I was talking to the server on my last solo trip, like 6 of the things on the tasting menu I was going to order anyway. I’m one of those people who will order whatever at a tapas place even if I’m only going to have a few bites.

Honestly you can’t go wrong with anything there. I don’t eat seafood, so they subbed out the seafood dishes on the tasting menu for a couple other things.

Also, spring for the Jambon Iberico they carve it table side and it’s so good!

Below is what I got on the tasting menu last May.