Top 10 Things i learned on our Disney Cruise

[tigger2on]

Originally Posted by disneylandkids

Bring quarters and my own laundry detergent in ziplock baggies for the laundry room.

Purex makes sheets of detergent/ softener/ static guard - All in one. We pack these as they are so easy, don't leak and weigh nothing.

[thundrmtn]

Originally Posted by mousejunkie98

And the sunscreen - I swear the sun is stronger in the Caribbean! We were slathering ourselves all day and I still got burned. Next time I'm taking a 2-pronged approach, with a layer of a good strong cream physical block and then a layer of the spray-on chemical block kind. We'll see if it works.

And speaking of sunscreen, be sure you have plenty when you go ashore. When my husband bought some in Nassau, he failed to look at the price before he got it, and learned he had just spent $24.50 a bottle.

[disneylandkids]

Originally Posted by xika

Bring dollar bills for the room service staff; our kids like the pre-bedtime snack occasionally, and we are addicted to breakfast in our stateroom/coffee on the verandah. A $20 to your room steward at the *beginning* of the voyage ensures you have even more magical service.

Bring a copy of passports and credit cards; leave another copy at home where someone can get it if you need it in an emergency. Call the credit card company before you leave to let them know you're traveling.


Great ideas thanks! what kind of extra magical service did you get?

One of my kids is *convinced* that the bedtime mints magically cure seasickness, so our room steward always makes sure we have a generous supply (for medicinal reasons, of course, ahem). Added help with my dad's motorized scooter being recharged and watched over in the hallway. Some even more and extraordinary towel animals... and sometimes, you know, it's just not a bad idea to show your appreciation in advance...

PS to a previous poster...yes! I remember reading about the change from using quarters to the cards, but thanks for the reminder!

[disneylandkids]

Originally Posted by thundrmtn

And speaking of sunscreen, be sure you have plenty when you go ashore. When my husband bought some in Nassau, he failed to look at the price before he got it, and learned he had just spent $24.50 a bottle.

We had approximately the same thing happen, but we bought our bottle in Cozumel and...ouch! the price was pretty darned high too.

[dxcspilk]

Originally Posted by tigger2on

Purex makes sheets of detergent/ softener/ static guard - All in one. We pack these as they are so easy, don't leak and weigh nothing.

LOVE these! Used them on our last Disneyland trip. Have to remember to bring them on the cruise. I need to start making a list...

[Scotty69]

If you are a beer drinker make sure you purchace the presail beer special before you leave. I did not do this and I had one heck of a bar bill at the end of our cruise. I won't make that mistake again

[glassslipper2004]

And be sure to put your sunscreen in your checked luggage (not carry-on) both on the way there and the way home! We've had it thrown out by security in the past when we forgot that one. I actually got a small sunscreen container to use one day when I knew we wouldn't have easy access to our checked luggage.

[delta0413]

These are good. I'd like to add a couple that we've learned:

1. Take the time to get to know some of the cast members. Most are thrilled to open up. Since it's such a mulit-cultural crew, ask questions about their home countries. Most are eager for the opportunity to talk about their home countries.

2. (Learned by reading these boards) We bring small celophane bags and a large bag of 'Fun Size' candy bars. I spend a few minutes when we get to the room filling the bags with candy and a couple of $1.00 bills. I use these to tip for room service. Most servers light up when you hand them the bag. I've learned by experience to hand them the bag with the dollar bills facing them so they can see that they are getting the tip AND candy.

[Angelhalo]

Very true about the hairdryers! They are horrid. My hairdryer at home is 1875 watts and it still takes me at least 15-20 minutes to dry my hair. If I tried to dry it with their hairdryer, it would probably take me an hour.

To the PP who doesn't understand why people bother drying their hair on the cruise.....there are lots of photos being taken and I would like to be able to look back at them and actually look nice instead of looking like a big fluff-head! LOL! If I blow dry mine and use Moroccan oil the wind and humidity don't mess it up at all

[cquick]

Originally Posted by lmhall2000

You are so right on the blow dryer!! EEK!!

Here are two that we found:

1. Room service is a treat and so helpful on long excursion days..remember to bring dollar bills for tips! YOU CAN TIP WITHOUT MONEY NOW, JUST ADD IT TO THE TICKET THAT THE ROOM SERVER BRINGS

2. Don't let your teen have charging privileges without you showing him how to use the arcarde credit machine..he put $50 on a card, not realizing it and promptly left without it on one of the games...it was stolen....he was broken hearted, it was all the money he had...we of course made up for it, but it was a lesson learned.

I would love to hear how they handled Christmas! Any special celebrations? Figgy pudding for dessert?? We're considering it one year, but not sure the kids would get that Christmas feeling on a ship...how was it??

Tara

Christmas was only so-so. The "Christmas" menu wasn't very good, They just don't "get" American food on the ship. Horrible mush cornbread dressing, no mashed potatoes, no sweet potatoes, no "regular" vegetbles.

Absolutely NO figgy pudding.......

[cquick]

Originally Posted by disneylandkids

I like this thread!

Our Top Ten List for the Disney Cruise...

THIS IS ESSENTIAL IN THE ACCESSIBLE STATEROOMS! THERE ARE NO STORAGE AREAS IN THE BATHROOM, WE USE HEAVY DUTY PLASTIC ZIP TIES TO ATTACH IT TO A TOWEL BAR.
Bring an 'over the door' shoe hanger because it holds a ton of those little incidentals such as hairbrushes, sunscreen, cameras, etc. and keeps your stateroom organized.

Bring enough sunscreen in your checked baggage because it's terribly expensive onboard or onshore.

Bring dollar bills for the room service staff; our kids like the pre-bedtime snack occasionally, and we are addicted to breakfast in our stateroom/coffee on the verandah. A $20 to your room steward at the *beginning* of the voyage ensures you have even more magical service.

YUP! WE EVEN HAVE A NOTEBOOK AND PEN ATTACHED TO THE FISH EXTENDER FOR NOTES TOO Bring a magnetic dry erase board for the stateroom door, so we can leave each other notes as to our whereabouts. AND IF YOU DON'T WANT EVERYONE TO KNOW WHERE YOU ARE, PUT IT ON THE INSIDE OF YOUR DOOR

Bring magnets and multiple color highlighters to put the Navigators up on the inside of the stateroom door so we can color-code our activities.

Bring quarters and my own laundry detergent in ziplock baggies for the laundry room. Cuts down on what we need to pack, and when the detergent is used up, it's just that much more space for souvenirs. We are particular about detergent due to allergies.

BYO feminine supplies.

Bring a power strip for plugging in the laptop, camera, etc. Turn the phone to Airplane Mode to avoid roaming charges but it can still be useful as an alarm clock. I download photos from the camera onto the laptop to make sure it has plenty of space for new photos each day.

Bring a copy of passports and credit cards; leave another copy at home where someone can get it if you need it in an emergency. Call the credit card company before you leave to let them know you're traveling.

We tend to use rolling duffel bags so they are flat when empty and go under the beds with ease.

Your ideas are great!

[KENNYBOT]

It seems to me you don't get much value for your points towards a cruise. I did the math and it came out to a value of 6 or 7 dollars. Am I crazy or is that correct?

[KENNYBOT]

I want to try the cruise and have two kids under 12. Thing is my wife and I hate always being around little kids that are not ours. Anyone else feel that way. Needless to say we're not teachers. Our kids are fairly well behaved and we hate being around bratty kids. Would you recomment we avaoid the Disney Cruise?

[MouseLovinMom]

The single most important thing we've learned about cruising (and traveling in general) is to go with a good attitude and an open mind. Things can and do go wrong but we don't let it spoil our vacation. We've had a few Murphy's Law moments on our DCL cruises, but always end up having an amazing time.

[Robin"D"]

Originally Posted by Scotty69

If you are a beer drinker make sure you purchace the presail beer special before you leave. I did not. Do this and I had one heck of a bar bill at the end of our cruise. I won't make that mistake again

Another TIP:
you can bring you own on board and DCL allows it!!!
THX DCL

Robin & Angel "D"