What should we do first thing?

[Brumbie13]

Go eat, then sit by the adult pool and order and drink and smile... your vacation has begun!

[lilbuddy88]

Originally Posted by kcashner

Do the other things first--get your dining table, reservations, etc. all set and eat. By that time, you'll usually be able to get to your room.

Where do you go to change Palo reservations? I thought this option was not available until 1:00?

[jahber]

Originally Posted by jdb in AZ

For pre-cruise "entertainment" DH likes to take the mickey head shaped cheddar crackers from our DCL castaway cay backpack out onto the verandah and throw them to the seagulls. The scavengers are overly friendly.

Ha! My kids won't even eat those. They think they taste funny (and I agree!). I have two containers from my last cruise...maybe I'll go feed the birds!

[Mackie Mouse]

We got smart last summer (cruise #2!) on the Dream and did the following. Note...we don't have kids:

-Got to the port as early as possible, and were on the ship well before noon

-Had a quick lunch at the buffet, then hit the pool (mostly empty!) and the Aquaduck (short line!). The key here is remembering to wear your bathing suit under your embarkation-day clothes.

-Went back to our room to drop off our carry-ons and change out of now-wet bathing suits, and to make sure everything was in working order

-Explored the ship and attended the open house at the spa; won a free hair treatment because we stayed for the raffle! Somewhere during exploring we hopped over to Palo to secure brunch reservations that we couldn't get before boarding. While we did this, friends went to secure spots at some alcohol tastings.

-Muster drill, then sail-away party!

-We may even have had some time to take in Goofy Golf before dinner that night. If not, we just spent some more time walking around the ship, taking in the ambiance, and planning out some activities for later that night.

Enjoy your cruise!

[kcashner]

Originally Posted by lilbuddy88

Where do you go to change Palo reservations? I thought this option was not available until 1:00?

In my experience, it depends on the ship. On the Magic, it has always been open as soon as we boarded (we're platinum, so usually board right away). On the Wonder, it didn't open till 1:00 supposedly, but after being "shoo"ed away at 12:30 and returning at 12:55, it was in full swing.

On the Fantasy, it was open at noon--I don't know how much earlier.

Look at the Navigator to determine where it is--I've seen it in lots of places depending on the cruise.

[rosermama]

Originally Posted by kcashner

In my experience, it depends on the ship. On the Magic, it has always been open as soon as we boarded (we're platinum, so usually board right away). On the Wonder, it didn't open till 1:00 supposedly, but after being "shoo"ed away at 12:30 and returning at 12:55, it was in full swing.

On the Fantasy, it was open at noon--I don't know how much earlier.

Look at the Navigator to determine where it is--I've seen it in lots of places depending on the cruise.

On the Navigator for the Fantasy it states that the reservations will be taken from 1 pm to 3:15 pm in their respective restaurants.

Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using DISBoards

[LoveStitch]

Wow! I posted the question, then dove into work (we have our own business and we're doubling up on work now in order to be free for cruise week) and haven't been back on here since. I was floored by all the responses, and all the great suggestions! Thank you so much! Several things I heard for the first time.

I'm going to print it out and re-read on the drive to the port next week.

Your comments got me even more excited - I started packing last night and am determined to do a little bit each evening until I'm all ready!

[dorito6778]

we always run for the spa first, with or without DD! lol

[youalleverybody]

Our last cruise was on the Dream, DH and I without the kids. We were onboard before noon. We had half an hour before Enchanted Garden opened for lunch, so we got a drink and watched people boarding for awhile. Then we had lunch. After that, we decided to sign up for Mixology, so we headed to The District to sign up. While there, we had another drink...

By then rooms were ready so we dropped off stuff. Then we explored the ship, and encountered several characters with short lines.

Enjoy!