What I would do/not do next cruise

breakingd_awn

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 29, 2009
:) Things I would DO next cruise:
1. Get dry cleaning done on ship , it's cheaper than home...who would have thought.
2. Get DH a case of beer to bring on ship;)
3. Bring more $1.00 bills for tipping room service and porters, my kids took
FULL advantage of free room service.We only brought $50.00 and didn't
have enough after cruise to afford a porter at the airport.
4. DOCUMENT MILEAGE YOURSELF AND ALL RECEIPTS BEFORE LEAVING at
car rental place, we are still waiting to be credited for a 550 mile
mistake that budget made. We only drove 84
5. Tour Nassau more
6. Get more pictures taken by photographers onboard, we only found 2
pictures that we ALL liked.
7. pack an over the door shoe holder ...now I know why ..my toiletries
were all over the place, it was hard to keep them organized.

Things I would not do:
1. Not pack workout clothes ...fully intended to do it , just didn't have the
time and I work out regularly at home . Just too Busy,Busy,Busy on the boat.
2. I didn't need an extension cord
3. I'm not sure about doing the Fish Extender group again...My youngest DD
loved getting all the gifts , as did I , It was also a good way of exploring
the ship , I had fun doing that.But getting them there can be expensive(
I paid 28.00 to ship them to the boat) They took up too much room in
my suitcase.It also creates ALOT of clutter in your stateroom ,and more
to pack on the way home.
4. I packed 4 pairs of pj's ...I don't know why. I only used 2.

This is just my opinions from our experience on the ship. Oh ...and I would have ordered breakfast through room service at least one day. I saw the order slip in the drawer on our last day.Darn!! Getting up early every morning to make it to breakfast with 4 girls is exhausting!!! I would have liked to sleep in at least one day .Next time I'll remember breakfast in bed:)
 
The only thing I'll take exception to is the extension cord--granted, I have a teen, but she uses it all the time. Gotta charge i-pod, camera, use hair straightener, etc.
 
I agree with you on the PJ's. In fact, I've started packing "junkie" T-shirts, and tossing them out when I'm done with them (instead of bringing them home...this allows for more packing space for the trip home).
 
You know what I Would NOT do next time? I would NOT listen to DH when he suggests a short nap after dinner on Pirate night! On our last trip, we were all still so exhausted from 4 days in WDW then onto the Cruise. On Pirate night we all lay down for that nap and didn't wake up till after 10 pm!! errrgghhhh. We missed the WHOLE Pirate Party!:scared1::mad:

Your Will and will not's are great.
As for the FE though, I love it enough to try to come up with smaller gifts to give out if I were flying down. I had enquired as to cost of shipping from CANADA to DCL, but it was WAY expensive. Then we decided to drive down, so I had one suitcase just for the FE stuff.
 


Completely agree about dry cleaning. Or just their laundry service in general. After our first cruise, we decided to budget it on our second for all evening clothes. Not only did we save time not having to iron...well, more importantly we just didn't have to iron! Now that's a vacation. ;)
 
I would have skipped onboard breakfast on the last day and slept in. Our time was 6:45am and after sleeping in all week and having nowhere to be super early, getting myself and the kids up and out the door to get down to breakfast for the last last day when we could have slept in until 8:30 or so and gotten breakfast on the port somewhere made us feel rushed, tired and cranky for most of the rest of the travel day. We had a long day of flights ahead of us (and a mid afternoon flight so getting up so early was particularly silly) and I think we all would have enjoyed a more leisurely breakfast or brunch somewhere off the ship more.
 
Things I would do:
1)If I fly in the night before, would stay at the Hyatt again!
2) Book a lower class room. We got an upgrade for free... a veranda, but probably only spent 20 min on it. Location of ship was more important to us than the veranda.
3) Let my dd enjoy the club a bit more. I hated her in there, it was a family vacation and I really felt we should be together every single minute.... the few times I let her go, she loved it and has talked about it ever since. My oldest dd didnt' go at all, and although she and I had a blast hanging out, she regrets it a bit. So next time, will strive for a balance.... let them enjoy the kids club some and teach myself how to enjoy some quiet mommy time...
4) Next time I will pack differently. We did a split trip and next time I will have separate bags for our cruise... and then our days off the cruise(with the exception of toiletries obviously) I was too unorganized.
5) Participate in my cruise meet thread. Great having someone to do Atlantis via Comfort Suites with... a group of 8 of us rode over together in a taxi.
6) Definitely GO TO ATLANTIS AGAIN! Wow!!!! loved it!

Things I won't do:
1)FE. I took small item(made CD of disney music for adults and small gifts for kids)... but the girls got a ton of candy(we went mid november, they still had tons of halloween candy at home) and the stuff took up a whole small suitcase coming home.
2) Order room service for dinner. Thought it would be cool for the girls. Took 45 min and wasn't very good. Would have been better off just getting quick service by the pool and bringing back to the room.
 


I agree about packing differently, there has got to be an easier way. We flew in from ohio the day before and also stayed a night near MCO after we got off the boat. We each had to pack some Ohio clothes for trip coming and going. Dh ,teen DD's and I got away with just jackets but had to pack winter coat for toddler and 7 year old. Next time I'm also getting a train case for all my toiletries/makeup , I had some in everyones suitcase , I couldn't remember where I put it all. We flew Southwest and they have a 50lb weight limit on suitcases, our 7 year old weighs 50lbs so I would pick her up then each case and make adjustments if I thought It was too heavy . We were close one was 47lbs.:eek: As far as time in stateroom ...with our toddler we had to spend time in the room , she had to have a nap. Vacation threw her regular eating/sleeping schedule for a loop....Not good
 
I will not play Bingo again, even with the free Bingo cards that the gift shop gives out with purchases during the designated times. I thought it was too expensive and I would rather spend the same money and time in the spa knowing that I would have a 100% chance of enjoying the service of my choice rather than a very small chance at sharing a Bingo pot of less than $200 per game!
 
What I won't do next time? Forget my photo mats that I dropped off at guest services to have signed by the characters!! I dropped them off on the first day, and based on what I read here, assumed they would be delivered to our stateroom on the last night. Well.... the last night... we were all tired, DS was not feeling well from the rocking of the boat, I was trying to get everything packed, and I NEVER EVEN THOUGHT about those photo mats! Didn't remember them until we got HOME!

Thankfully, I emailed DCL and they shipped them to me, but I was mad at myself for doing that, especially since one of them was supposed to be a surprise gift/souvenier for my in-laws who went with us, and they had to go home without theirs!

Anyway, I will do the photo mats again - I just won't forget them!! I hope!

Love this thread, by the way.....
 
What I won't do next time? Forget my photo mats that I dropped off at guest services to have signed by the characters!! I dropped them off on the first day, and based on what I read here, assumed they would be delivered to our stateroom on the last night. Well.... the last night... we were all tired, DS was not feeling well from the rocking of the boat, I was trying to get everything packed, and I NEVER EVEN THOUGHT about those photo mats! Didn't remember them until we got HOME!

Thankfully, I emailed DCL and they shipped them to me, but I was mad at myself for doing that, especially since one of them was supposed to be a surprise gift/souvenier for my in-laws who went with us, and they had to go home without theirs!

Anyway, I will do the photo mats again - I just won't forget them!! I hope!

Love this thread, by the way.....

I'm sorry to hear that. I did the same and they were in my stateroom the last night of our cruise. It's one of my favorite mementos from the cruise, I got sharpies that match our decor , a picture we all liked from shutters, bought a brushed nickel frame with mickey ears/dcl logo stamped in each corner (at treasure ketch) I love it , definately doing that again next time. Thats nice of them to ship them to you :)
 
I will not play Bingo again, even with the free Bingo cards that the gift shop gives out with purchases during the designated times. I thought it was too expensive and I would rather spend the same money and time in the spa knowing that I would have a 100% chance of enjoying the service of my choice rather than a very small chance at sharing a Bingo pot of less than $200 per game!

I didn't do bingo but I did get the pro collagen facial....OMG it was the most relaxing experience ever. My face was glowing afterward,I almost fell asleep ...and I don't take naps. Next time I might get 2 spa services:cool1:
 
I will never cruise a 3 or 4 night in January again. It was 35 degrees when we set sail from Port. The kids wanted to go in the Ocean at Castaway Cay and of course it was to cold for dh and myself.

Also BINGO, I will not be suckered into playing again! Ha I love bingo but when I saw my bill of $480 for bingo on the cruise I about fell over.

I will sail again, again and again on DCL. We love the ships and the kids love the characters. I will be devestated when they figure it all out and just want to go on the boat to look at the girls! They are only 2 and 4 so I think we have time!
 
I agree with you on the PJ's. In fact, I've started packing "junkie" T-shirts, and tossing them out when I'm done with them (instead of bringing them home...this allows for more packing space for the trip home).

I have a friend that does this with her old undies.
 
Will do
1- will get breakfast via room service
2- will do FE again - very fun, kids loved it
3- will pre print stickers for luggage for disembarking- very time saving
4- bring over the door shoe bag for small things.
5- pack way less for everyone
6- read personal navigator more closely as to not miss fun events.

Will not do
1- book shore excersions prior to boarding
2- play bingo
3- forget to bring alarm clock that projects time on ceiling
4- will not bring refillable mugs or my own tea bags ( the ships tea was good)
 
Will not do...
1.Bingo
2.Spa treatment - very relaxing but I got upsold on the products at the end!

Will do...
1.Palo
2.Pirate party
 
Will Do:

1 Palo Brunch---FANTASTIC! We liked the brunch better than dinner we had the cruise before.

2 Rent a car at the ports, it was a great cheap way for us to explore

3 Lunch at one of the sit down resturants

4 Sushi bar at the buffet--YUM!




Won't Do:
1 Spa treatments--they are way to pricey and had a bad experience we the massage I booked for DH....

2 Order a margarita--they put orange juice in the margarita, who does that? It was YUCK!
 
:) Things I would DO next cruise:
1. Get dry cleaning done on ship , it's cheaper than home...who would have thought.
2. Get DH a case of beer to bring on ship;)
3. Bring more $1.00 bills for tipping room service and porters, my kids took
FULL advantage of free room service.We only brought $50.00 and didn't
have enough after cruise to afford a porter at the airport.
4. DOCUMENT MILEAGE YOURSELF AND ALL RECEIPTS BEFORE LEAVING at
car rental place, we are still waiting to be credited for a 550 mile
mistake that budget made. We only drove 84
5. Tour Nassau more
6. Get more pictures taken by photographers onboard, we only found 2
pictures that we ALL liked.
7. pack an over the door shoe holder ...now I know why ..my toiletries
were all over the place, it was hard to keep them organized.

Things I would not do:
1. Not pack workout clothes ...fully intended to do it , just didn't have the
time and I work out regularly at home . Just too Busy,Busy,Busy on the boat.
2. I didn't need an extension cord
3. I'm not sure about doing the Fish Extender group again...My youngest DD
loved getting all the gifts , as did I , It was also a good way of exploring
the ship , I had fun doing that.But getting them there can be expensive(
I paid 28.00 to ship them to the boat) They took up too much room in
my suitcase.It also creates ALOT of clutter in your stateroom ,and more
to pack on the way home.
4. I packed 4 pairs of pj's ...I don't know why. I only used 2.

This is just my opinions from our experience on the ship. Oh ...and I would have ordered breakfast through room service at least one day. I saw the order slip in the drawer on our last day.Darn!! Getting up early every morning to make it to breakfast with 4 girls is exhausting!!! I would have liked to sleep in at least one day .Next time I'll remember breakfast in bed:)

Wonderful ideas! Like the dry cleaning :laundy:, and more photos ideas. :cheer2: Thanks!
 
Will Do:

1 Palo Brunch---FANTASTIC! We liked the brunch better than dinner we had the cruise before.

2 Rent a car at the ports, it was a great cheap way for us to explore

3 Lunch at one of the sit down resturants

4 Sushi bar at the buffet--YUM!




Won't Do:
1 Spa treatments--they are way to pricey and had a bad experience we the massage I booked for DH....

2 Order a margarita--they put orange juice in the margarita, who does that? It was YUCK!

Hmmm...I really liked their margaritas. I wonder what type you got or whether they were just out of the mix. I've never seen them put orange juice in mine.
 
Will do that I didn't and wish I had....
1. Breakfast and Lunch in sit down restaurant
2. Coffee at Cove Cafe
3. Play backgammon and shuffleboard
4. Relax more.

Will do that I did and will do again....
1. Palo
2. Spa, spa, spaaaaaaaah
3. Carry on my own alcohol
4. See movies.

Won't do again...
1. Eat everynight at dining rotation (doing another 4 night and will probably skip all dinners except Pirate night and Tritons)
2. Get off the ship at Nassau...I spent enough money on this boat, I am going to stay on it!!
3. Try to do it all.
 

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