Ordering birthday decorations and water ahead of time - worth it?

[misndug]

We will be taking our first cruise in June, and will be celebrating my son's 8th birthday while on board. Is it worth the $ to buy the decorations and have them decorate our room? Also - I have a long history of kidney stones, so tons of water is a must. What are your thoughts on buying the case of water from Disney ahead of time? I'm not sure we really want to fool with carrying a case on board and having to keep up with until we get to our room. If we bring reusable water bottles, how accessible is water on the ship (and more importantly, how does it taste)?

Thanks!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We will be taking our first cruise in June, and will be celebrating my son's 8th birthday while on board. Is it worth the $ to buy the decorations and have them decorate our room? Also - I have a long history of kidney stones, so tons of water is a must. What are your thoughts on buying the case of water from Disney ahead of time? I'm not sure we really want to fool with carrying a case on board and having to keep up with until we get to our room. If we bring reusable water bottles, how accessible is water on the ship (and more importantly, how does it taste)?

Thanks!

The water onboard (from the drink station, at meals, for coffee/tea, from your room tap) is all processed the same as bottled water, reverse osmosis and filtered. There's really no reason to bring bottled water onboard, just use your personal water bottle and keep it filled. I think it tastes fine.

If you purchase the birthday package, you room will be decorated the day you board, not necessarily on the birthday date.

I haven't done the birthday package, but, if I wanted my room decorated for an event, I'd probably bring my own stuff onboard to do it (keep in mind DCL requests only magnets for afixing decorations, no tape or sticky substances).

 

[kcashner]

The tap water on the ship is fine. It is processed in exactly the same way as most bottled water--by reverse osmosis and then filtering. If you feel the need to have bottled water, it will be much less costly to bring it with you. I can get a case at my local grocery for $2.99; the same number of bottles on DCL is about $35.

The birthday decorations are not worth it to me. THey will be up on the day you board, not on the big day. The package no longer includes the cake; you have to buy that separately. What you will get free--a button type pin from Guest Services or in the dining room at dinner. It is more fun to get it in the morning and wear it all day. A special dessert and the serving staff singing at dinner. There are sometimes some special things in the programming.

Bring your own decorations (no adhesives allowed) if you wish. You'll save a bundle and can put them up on the big day. For DD's 13th, I did up the door on the birthday--wild and bright. It was super because all the little princesses on the ship were wishing her a happy birthday in the halls, etc. Lots of "are you the birthday girl?" by the elevators, etc.

 

[tinkerone]

i'm with you, i didn't carry my water on but i did want some bottled water. i drank it on the ship but also took it off the boat with us.
if you order it ahead it will be waiting in your room when you get there. you pay for it before you get on the ship. you can order it at any time when you get on the ship however if you do this then you have a tip applied to the cost.

 

[tictoc]

I am confused by this. I called and ordered the decorations and they said they could decorate the room any day I wished except the last day. Your stateroom host does it. They are ridiculously priced but my son's big day is the day we arrive. There is no way I can get to the room and decorate it before he gets there.

The lady at DCL did say if I was bringinganything of my own to hang up to adhere magnets to te back of it. She said that most of the surfaces are metal.

 

[kcashner]

It is possible that the policy has changed, but in the past all the decorations that anyone ordered were up when you initially had access to your cabin. Yes, your stateroom host does it, but it is easier to do before you have personal stuff all over the room.

It is also possible that the policy has not changed and the CM you spoke with has wrong info. My experience is that the stuff is up on embarkation day regardless of when the actual birthday is/was.

 

[jnbmom]

The water on the ship is great tasting. I'm very picky about my water and can taste things that no one else I'm with ever tastes. If you are worried at all, just bring some with you. We definitely won't be messing with it on our next cruise. Also, if you order anything from room service, be sure to ask for plenty of ice water- they put lids on them so if you don't want it right away you can put it in your fridge for later!

 

[ptisme]

Thanks for the info on the water. I too am picky about my water and didn't know whether to bring some with or not but I don't think I will now that I read this post.

 

[BrennaM]

I had my birthday on a march cruise last year and we didn't purchase any decorations. So it was a complete surprise when I came in to see a big happy birthday banner on the bed with a special doggie towel animal cause our room steward had asked what animals I liked.

I think if you really want to be sure that you have decorations, bring your own and talk to your steward. They are fantastic and will surely put your decorations out.

 

[kcashner]

I had my birthday on a march cruise last year and we didn't purchase any decorations. So it was a complete surprise when I came in to see a big happy birthday banner on the bed with a special doggie towel animal cause our room steward had asked what animals I liked.

I think if you really want to be sure that you have decorations, bring your own and talk to your steward. They are fantastic and will surely put your decorations out.

They will definitely set out anything YOU provide on the big day...and a birthday cake out of towels is a frequent event. Also, I brought a little collapsible centerpiece which I slipped to our server the day before...it appeared on our dinner table.